How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 87

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (87)

“Yes…? Yes, I’ll bring it.”

“Good. One cup will do. Shall we go now?”

“…This is a bit embarrassing to say, but I don’t have the strength to warp. If you could just wait a moment…”

“Ugh, what a pain in the ass!”

Elias, growing impatient, grabbed his wrist and warped.

When I warped after them, Elias was already taking out a glass and pouring wine.

“I’ll drink it.”

“Please do.”

“Count, hold him with your magic so he can’t warp.”

“…What are you…?”

The Prince half-raised his body and looked at us with bewildered eyes.

“Shut up! If you’re going to stop me, you drink it too.”

“Ah, no, I’m just asking…”

In the meantime, Elias had already downed a glass of wine.

I swallowed hard and watched him.

Elias tilted his head and frowned.

“Well, there’s nothing.”

“…So it seems.”

“Hmm.”

Elias looked back and forth between the wine and the Prince with a troubled expression.

He let out a deep sigh and lay down on the floor.

“?!”

“What are you doing?!”

Despite the Prince’s shock, Elias remained lying down with a frown.

“I don’t want to do anything.”

“What?”

What’s he talking about all of a sudden?

“Just… I…”

Elias’s eyes seemed to be getting watery.

Perhaps because his legs almost got crushed by his cousin, he didn’t seem to be in a very good mood.

“I just want to cut Uncle’s throat… mmph!”

“Your jokes are quite excessive. Though it’s not just a day or two, is it? Right?”

At this rate, he’ll start calling me by my real name too.

Before the Antagonist could call me Luca, I quickly injected magic into his neck.

Elias fell asleep instantly.

“…!”

The Prince’s eyes widened as he stared at me.

“He’s not dead.”

“Ah, yes. Right?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Elias’s eyes snapped open.

“What?”

“Well. You seem normal as usual. Your Highness, may I have a drink too?”

“Of course.”

Elias seemed to notice something was wrong, as his face became serious again.

It’s a bit hard to tell since he’s normally like this, but still, it’s different from usual.

No matter what, he’s not crazy enough to say he wants to cut Uncle’s throat in front of Uncle’s son.

So, the wine the Crown Prince gave must contain a drug that makes you act on thoughts you’ve only been thinking.

‘How bold.’

To try to realize what he desires through his younger brother’s hands.

The Crown Prince was like that in the novel too.

He just wasn’t noticeable because the second son Adelbert always took the lead and acted conspicuously, but when it came to being vile, the Crown Prince was worse. Rather, Adelbert couldn’t be called vile.

‘That’s why he only went to prison.’

Would someone who rose to the throne through treason, especially someone like Elias, kindly spare the royal family?

He killed everyone who wasn’t worth recycling.

And in Elias’s mind, Adelbert was a very useful card if only his loyalty could be turned his way.

‘Of course Leo opposed it, but… that’s not important now.’

The Crown Prince is enough of a bastard to pull something like this.

Since it’s a neck that needs to be blown off eventually anyway, the best course is to have Wittelsbach analyze the drug and create evidence.

As I poured wine into my glass, the Prince glanced around nervously and spoke.

“…Count Ernst.”

“Yes.”

“…Thank you for helping me.”

He couldn’t lift his face.

I don’t think it’s something to be thanked for, but knowing what he must be feeling, I just shrugged.

“It’s nothing.”

“And, Elias.”

“What. If you’re going to apologize, shut up. It’s cliché.”

The Prince’s shoulders flinched.

“…Sorry.”

“…”

“…This will really sound shameless… and I still don’t like you much, but…”

“What, man?”

“I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”

If Elias had to depend on devices to walk for the rest of his life because of this incident, Adelbert would have blamed himself and suffered for a long time given his personality.

So Elias not getting hurt could only be fortunate for him.

Elias let out a deep breath with an expression asking why he was saying such long things, then nodded. Then he rolled up his sleeves.

“Yeah, I think so too. I’m really glad I didn’t get hurt.”

“Huh? Why, why…”

The Prince backed away as he watched Elias approaching him.

Smack―!

“Ow!”

The Prince grabbed his head where Elias had hit him.

Elias grinned with a refreshed expression.

“If I’d been hurt, when would I get to give Prince a knuckle sandwich? I’d be grinding my teeth in the hospital by now. Phew, that’s refreshing.”

Was that really just a knuckle sandwich level?

While I was chuckling, Elias spoke dismissively to the Prince who was shedding tears.

“Bury it.”

“What?”

“It is your fault but it’s also not your fault, so stop digging into the ground and bury it appropriately.”

Elias seemed to remember something as he whipped his head around to glare at the Prince with blazing eyes.

“But don’t bury it completely and make it disappear! You roughly know what I mean, right? Find the right line yourself, man! Don’t make me say it multiple times, it’s annoying.”

“Y-yeah… I got it.”

The Prince dodged as Elias approached threateningly again.

Thinking he might start yelling something, I checked my watch and stood up.

“Your Grace. Let’s go.”

* * *

I said I’d stop by my room for a moment and put wine in a container I found in the room.

I left a simple note and warped it to Leo’s secretary’s office, so analysis will begin soon.

‘But… what did we do that it’s already seven o’clock?’

In the end, I couldn’t sleep a wink.

After taking a carriage with Elias to an inn near the school, I immediately warped to the dormitory, quickly changed clothes, and came out to the main gate.

“You’re here, Student Lucas.”

My homeroom professor, who had been waiting for me, greeted me warmly.

So I traveled eight hours by train with my homeroom professor, and was finally able to arrive at the manor at four in the afternoon.

“Go on in. I’ll be at the teacher’s quarters, so come anytime if there’s a problem.”

“…Thank you for your hard work, Professor.”

Since the professor’s face had become half its original size compared to when we departed, I couldn’t help but say this.

I followed behind a servant who came out from the manor.

The servant stopped in the middle of the hallway and pointed to a huge door.

“You can stay here.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After sending the servant away and opening the door, a living room with several attached rooms appeared.

Narke, who had been playing card games with students, looked at my complexion and said.

“You look really tired. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Come to think of it, you came here.”

“Yeah, Julia said divine power is also used as a material in experiments~ So I came. Your room is over there, so hurry up and unpack.”

Narke pointed to the end of the hallway.

I opened the door at the end of the hallway and spoke while looking at a not-so-surprising face.

“I knew you’d be here.”

“You’re here? Took you long enough.”

Leo pointed to the desk on the opposite side as if it were my spot.

Then he turned his head as if remembering something.

“Oh, I had that alcohol you sent analyzed. What kind of alcohol was it?”

“It’s alcohol the Crown Prince made his younger brother drink.”

“Hmm…? To Prince Adelbert?”

Leo tilted his head with a face that couldn’t grasp the situation.

“Elias will probably tell you about it. Listen later.”

“Well, okay. And Lucas, do you know how to solve all the textbooks the school distributed?”

I looked up at Leo’s question.

“If you can’t solve those, you’ll fail the midterms and finals too, right?”

“That’s right.”

The school had distributed textbooks by subject for competition preparation, but for the Imperial 2nd Education Institute, which was no different from a specialized high school, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

Since it was a competition that only supported students advancing to experimental competitions, it seemed they couldn’t make problems at the Olympiad level as I had thought.

‘That’s why everyone’s just playing card games when the test is tomorrow…’

Leo closed his book and stood up.

“That’s a relief. Then, forget about the competition and let’s go practice making magic potions right away.”

* * *

‘Look at him saying forget about the competition.’

Very admirable indeed.

Not just Leo, but all the students from our school had the same confidence.

Perhaps because they were masters of concentration, they were all focused on experiments together, losing track of time, when roll call time arrived.

As I was handling business in the hallway and about to go back in to pack my things, I heard a familiar conversation from students from other schools leaning against the railing in the distance.

“…How did he really get here? I thought ‘no way,’ but he actually came.”

“He probably paid money to come here too.”

“Ah, that guy got into that place through donation admission too.”

“What do you mean donation admission to the Imperial 2nd Education Institute…”

“I really don’t understand the donation admission students at our school either, but if you don’t have the skills, couldn’t you just not go? Anyway…”

When I looked in their direction, one student who spotted me signaled to his friends and hurriedly left the spot.

‘It’s been a while since I got this kind of reaction.’

Right, this is how it is outside school.

I had been immersed in the school atmosphere and forgotten the seriousness of the situation.

Anyway, that level is nothing compared to the school atmosphere I felt initially.

They only talked about donation admission.

It wasn’t like they were trying to mock me, and with the limited information they knew so far, it was natural for them to think that way.

‘Right, this is how it should be.’

This is what gives meaning to me coming out here.

If my external image wasn’t like that, why would I be here?

* * *

And so, the morning of the competition day arrived.

Students from the Imperial 2nd Education Institute were having serious conversations in the hallway outside the exam room.

“Everyone, let’s do our best.”

“I’ll just barely make it to 50th place. Leo, you go for 1st place. Save our school’s honor.”

“Why are you telling me that? Lucas is the top student in our department.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

[30 minutes before the exam begins. Students are asked to enter the room right now.]

When the announcement was heard, students frowned and sighed.

“Ah, how are we supposed to wait until evening?”

“I know… I feel like I’m taking finals twice right now.”

‘…They’re not worried about not getting good scores, they’re complaining because they don’t want to take the test…’

Everyone’s confidence is really amazing.

“Let’s go now.”

“Everyone do well!”

Students from the same school were all assigned to different exam halls.

I lightly waved to the students greeting me and entered the exam room.

And so…

Half a day passed.

[The exam has ended. Students are asked to move to the Academy Hall by 10 PM.]

‘It’s over.’

It really feels like I just took finals twice, as some student said earlier.

Unlike before, I did some light stretching and got up from my seat.

When I went out to the hallway, Narke was coming out of the next classroom.

“Lucas, did you do well?”

“So-so.”

“Hahaha, I don’t know what to say about this.”

Narke laughed as if incredulous, then gathered other Imperial 2nd Education Institute students and headed to the auditorium together. After waiting a long time until the announcement, we finally heard the host’s voice.

[Good evening, everyone.]

[We will now announce the bonus point recipients for the Imperial High School Academic Competition hosted by the Bavarian Royal Academy. Before the full announcement, there will be awards and certificates presented to the 1st through 3rd place students.]

I looked around the spacious auditorium.

On the first floor of the auditorium sat about 300 exam participants, and on the second floor sat teachers and students from various schools who came to cheer.

[Although the difficulty level was the same, since this was the first time expanding the scope nationwide, many said it was more difficult than previous years. Nevertheless, we pay tribute to the hard work of all students who demonstrated their abilities and showed excellent results.]

‘This is how they’re saying that Bavarian student levels are higher than the Empire average…’

[We will now announce the 2nd year certificate recipients. 3rd place, Prussian State Magic School of Schleswig-Holstein, Frederike Zecht.]

[Congratulations. You worked hard.]

The Royal Academy director shook hands with the student and handed over the certificate and plaque.

When the presentation ended, the host spoke again.

[We will announce 2nd place. Prussian Imperial 2nd Education Institute, Leonard Wittelsbach.]

“Waaaaaaah―!”

Suddenly, a tremendously loud cheer poured out, loud enough to hurt the ears.

It was an even bigger reaction than before.

‘I had forgotten.’

That bastard’s impression score was 10 points.

I could feel just how much recognition and popularity Leo had.

Leo lightly shook the hands that students extended to him and went up to the podium to receive his certificate and plaque.

[Finally, first place.]

When it came to first place, the host began to drag out the time even more than before.

Finally, he opened his mouth.

[Prussian Imperial 2nd Education Institute, Lucas Ascanien.]

“…Huh?!”

“What?!”

‘…’

Isn’t the treatment too different from earlier?

Students from other schools looked at me with shocked, stunned faces.

As I walked toward the podium, applause finally began to trickle in one by one, then quickly filled the auditorium.

It was probably polite applause, but it was a decent reaction considering I had expected only silence.

[Congratulations. You’re the first perfect scorer in three years – would you like to say a few words?]

‘Again? This is the third time since midterms.’

In my life, I had cursed my memory more often than not…

Honestly, my thoughts are slowly starting to change now.

I grabbed the microphone enchanted with amplification magic.

[Thank you for this meaningful award. I would like to dedicate this honor to the professors of the Imperial 2nd Education Institute. And…]

It would be best to avoid mentioning His Majesty the King as much as possible. After all, there’s no connection between him and Lucas Ascanien.

[Thanks to all of you, I was able to achieve good results. Thank you.]

It wasn’t directed at anyone specific.

Everyone would have had the same impression of me anyway.

If the entire nation hadn’t considered me the underachiever of the Ascanien family, I wouldn’t have entered this competition either, so it wasn’t really wrong.

I smiled with satisfaction as I looked at the auditorium still in shock.

With this, the nationwide foundation for the image transformation I had hoped for was laid.

* * *

The next day, I brought the Bavarian Royal Newspaper that was stuck in front of my room and spread it on my desk.

[Bavarian Royal Academy High School Division Academic Competition]

[2nd Year Final Bonus Point Recipients List (50)]

[Lucas Ascanien 100.0

Leonard Wittelsbach 99.7

Frederike Zecht 97.5

…]

‘Leo must have gotten one question wrong.’

If I were His Majesty the King, I would have removed the scores and listed names randomly, but either way, he really kept his promise to ‘help change the image’ for sure.

Even though the crown prince was beaten by someone from another region.

And…

The results of this competition had already been transmitted overseas.

I put away the kingdom newspaper and opened today’s Imperial Newspaper.

Against a backdrop of blurred forest and cityscape, an unpleasant face was faintly smiling while covered in blood.

[Adrian Ascanien Successfully Destroys Pleroma Garrison in Ravenna, Papal States]

I read the title and put on the filter.

The sound began playing from the middle of the interview.

[…It wouldn’t have been possible without the information discovered by Duke Elias Hohenzollern and Count Nicolaus Ernst. I hope we’ll have the opportunity to work together again next time.]

As the long interview was coming to an end, Adrian Ascanien suddenly brought up something unexpected.

[…And finally, may I send a brief greeting to my family?]

[Of course.]

[Thank you. Then…]

Adrian Ascanien looked at the camera, smiled, and opened his mouth.

[Luca.]

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————