The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 53

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 53
Children they may be, yet judgment without mercy.
The problem was that he meant every word.
Not a trace of affection flickered in his eyes as he regarded his daughters.
Not Katrine, and not Joanna either.
“…….”
“…….”
Their reactions diverged sharply.
Katrine didn’t so much as flinch, accustomed to such dismissal, while Joanna struggled to hide the wound opening beneath her composure.
‘…Katrine feels it just as deeply. She’s simply forcing herself to accept it as normal.’
Truthfully, this wasn’t my place to meddle in.
After all, wounds like these would become the soil from which both of them grew.
Yet perhaps I’d caught some of the Black Flame Dragon’s meddlesome nature.
I found myself speaking words I need not have spoken.
“That isn’t so.”
“Hmm?”
I believe both of your daughters are brilliant talents destined to shine like stars.”
Joanna and Katrine turned toward me with startled eyes.
But it was the truth.
‘Both possess the potential to grow into Ascended Ones. At least in Joanna’s case, if she doesn’t fall behind.’
Not all sixteen True Protagonists had the capacity to reach Ascension. Some had growth ceilings at Level 8, even Level 7.
In that regard, Katrine—dual-track True Protagonist—was expected, and Joanna too could be called an exceptional talent.
“Kek-kek, it’s been a while, and you’ve mastered flattery nicely. Though that boy beside you seems far more impressive to me. There is something irritating coiled in his depths, though.”
He was speaking of Libel.
Greed kindled in Alfonsus’s gaze.
“Boy, would you not become my adopted son? If you desire it, I shall make you my true son.”
Murmurs rippled through the hall.
The Magical Noble Houses had a custom of taking exceptional talents as adopted sons and daughters.
Yet it was typically only a symbolic gesture of becoming a member of the house, not truly becoming the heir’s child—this was an unprecedented honor.
‘It might not be bad for Libel.’
Though I hesitated to speak such a thought, the two of them were kindred spirits in many ways, and their compatibility might have been surprisingly good.
But Libel’s response was unexpected.
“I must respectfully decline.”
“Hmm? If you became my son, you could receive my instruction directly—”
“I have no need for such a thing.”
Libel spoke with sharp finality.
No stammer, no hesitation as was his habit.
“The one who will teach me is Professor Ban.”
Deep in Libel’s eyes, a faint luminescence of madness flickered and danced.
‘…Wait, I’m just a temporary instructor for a two-month course. After two months, we part ways—’
Ignoring my racing thoughts, Alfonsus simply nodded as if it made perfect sense.
“If you’ve met Ban first, that’s reason enough to think as you do.”
“You’re too kind.”
“It’s not kindness. Even now jealousy toward you wells up in me—unbearably. I want to tear you to shreds right here and now.”
The tone that had grown somewhat gentler suddenly sharpened to a knife’s edge.
Alfonsus smiled, his eyes wild with something unhinged.
“I might wake one day and decide to kill you. Ah, I’m serious. No—should I call it a jest? Haha.”
“…….”
“So what if we do this instead? So that I don’t kill you, we become family. You’re the son of Hu-Am, my friend, so I can’t take you as an adopted son….”
Then Alfonsus spoke madness itself.
“You’ll become my son-in-law. You’ll marry Joanna.”
“!!”
Shock far greater than before swept through the hall.
Yet it was no jest.
The artificial smile that had clung to Alfonsus’s lips vanished entirely.
“If you marry Joanna, I’ll give you the position of next Family Head. After all, as a third child, you’ll never inherit the Ecclesia Family, so it’s hardly a bad proposal for you either.”
Beside me, Joanna’s face drained of all color.
What Alfonsus was saying negated in a single stroke the entire life Joanna had spent struggling to become a Family Head of a Magical Noble House.
“Or perhaps you fancy Katrine? You’re welcome to choose her instead. The age difference is perfect, is it not?”
For reference, both freshmen were seventeen years old.
Ban, who had not long since graduated from the academy, was twenty-three—a perfectly suitable age difference for a marriage prospect.
“If you refuse, I don’t know what I might do. I could have an accident befall you right now, cut your throat. Hahaha!”
Madness threaded through his voice, and I wrestled with what to do.
‘I have to refuse as gracefully as possible without crossing Alfonsus.’
If not for what Alfonsus said next, I would have managed exactly that.
“Once you marry me, at least one of those worthless children of yours will become a real asset to the family.”
“!!”
Both their faces paled.
Joanna, of course—but Katrine too could no longer maintain her mask of indifference.
I ended up saying something I would come to regret.
“Stop.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t vent your inferiority onto your children, Your Grace.”
“!!”
Everyone in the room drew a sharp breath at my incendiary words.
The most shocked was myself, for spewing them.
‘What was I thinking?! Have I really been infected by the Black Flame Dragon?’
For the record, the Black Flame Dragon had nothing to do with it.
This was my own doing.
And my madness didn’t stop there.
“It is not those children’s fault that Your Grace never became an Ascended One. Do not take out your frustrations on them.”
The King of Mages.
That is what Alfonsus is called.
But the title always came with a qualifier.
‘On earth,’ ‘among mortals,’ ‘beneath the heavens’—and so forth.
Because he was not an Ascended One who had risen to the sky.
His kingship extended only to mages whose feet remained planted on the ground.
His inferiority toward those truly great mages who had ascended had twisted him into this warped thing.
‘Damn it, what was I thinking? Of course, in the long term, stepping in like this will have a positive effect on Joanna and Katrine, and if it benefits the salvation of the world…’
No, any way I looked at it, this was a losing move.
No matter how much their dejected, pathetic figures reminded me of my former self, this was madness I should never have unleashed.
‘At this point, I have no choice. I need to contain this.’
The one saving grace was that I’d prepared insurance for when things went worst.
‘Now the time has come.’
“You really do astonish me. To dare speak such recklessness to me—it’s admirable. It only makes me want you more. A jealousy that makes me want to kill you, a covetousness I can’t describe. I don’t know what to do with it.”
Alfonsus murmured these words with a chilling smile, barely suppressing laughter.
That’s when my “insurance” arrived!
“Haha. Alfonsus! This fellow comes down from Heavenly Sky Island after so long and his humor has improved. Did you spend all your time in the sky practicing comedy instead of magic?”
A laugh that cut through Alfonsus’s momentum.
When I turned my gaze, there stood a man with sharp, blade-like features dressed in an official’s uniform.
My father—Hu-Am!
Despite his hearty laugh, Hu-Am’s face remained entirely serious.
“And a marriage, no less? My friend, news like this should come through me. Surely you’re not—disrespecting me? Or our House Ecclesia?”
“!!”
Whoosh!
Hu-Am’s aura flared outward.
His level was Lv. 7, falling short of Alfonsus.
Yet the commanding presence he cast over the hall was no weaker than Alfonsus’s.
‘Truly, the head of the Empire’s greatest house.’
The Thousand-Year Oak.
That was the epithet for House Ecclesia.
Among the Four Great Dukedoms, House Ecclesia is not the strongest.
In honor they yield to the martial houses, in power to the magical houses, and in wealth to House Rapelt.
It has always been this way in history.
There has always been some house that overshadowed House Ecclesia, yet it is always Ecclesia that survives.
When other ducal houses vanished in countless successions, House Ecclesia alone endured, maintaining its dignity in solitary splendor.
When someone asks which ducal house in the Empire is the strongest, the answer always varies—but when they ask which is the most noble, the answer is always Ecclesia.
“I do hope what you said today was merely a joke learned on Heavenly Sky Island. I’d rather not quarrel with an old friend like you.”
“…I was presumptuous. My desire clouded my judgment—seeing how splendidly your son has grown. I envy you.”
Remarkably, Alfonsus took a step backward!
Hu-Am smiled.
The frost-edged air softened.
“Envious? I still have so much to learn. Thank you for seeing the good in me.”
Hu-Am gestured toward me with his eyes.
“Why do you stand there? Shouldn’t you thank him for his hospitality?”
“…Thank you.”
Even in this moment, Hu-Am did not offer an apology.
He was drawing a line—that responsibility for my rampage lay with the Magical Noble House.
“The Duchess, too—it’s been a long time. I’m truly sorry to hear about your brother.”
“…No.”
“Thank you for understanding so graciously. Truly, you are a woman of great distinction. Your brother will accept his punishment gladly.”
The warning was clear: I would punish my brother, so don’t interfere.
Duchess Bes’s fists trembled, but unlike before, she did not raise her voice even a fraction.
“Not at all.”
“Ha, I fear we’ve been a burden. Then, we should take our leave.”
“Please wait just a moment, Father. I haven’t yet received a proper apology from the Family Head of the Magical Noble House.”
All eyes turned toward me.
My heart lurched, but I steadied myself.
‘There’s something I’m after. Something I could never ask for in any other circumstance.’
Indeed, Alfonsus did not grow angry—not with his father present.
“Very well. How shall I make amends?”
“Please allow me to visit Maelstrom Island, which belongs to the Magical Noble House, at a later date.”
“Hmm? Understood. Will that suffice?”
“Entirely.”
‘Success!’
I exulted silently.
Maelstrom Island held a hidden piece.
It would be of tremendous help to someone burdened with Mana Insensitivity like myself.
‘It’s dangerous, but I must clear it. The key to reaching 2nd Ascension lies there.’
2nd Ascension!
A rank that dogs and cats and even students reached with ease, yet for one cursed with Mana Insensitivity, it seemed impossibly distant.
‘Once I reach 2nd Ascension, I’ll be far stronger than I am now.’
Hu-Am wrapped up the conversation.
“Then we really must be going. Alfonsus, we’ll see you next time. Don’t spend all your days on Heavenly Sky Island—come down to the surface more often.”
“I will.”
Our party left Klein Duke’s Estate.
Everyone watched Hu-Am carefully.
“Ban, do you have time? Let’s talk for a moment.”
“…Understood. The rest of you, return to the Free City through the portal.”
‘I’m going to catch it for this. I did cause a commotion, after all.’
It was something I’d steeled myself for from the moment I’d started this incident.
But then Hu-Am said something I hadn’t anticipated.
“Do you drink these days?”
“…Occasionally. Why do you ask?”
“Good. Then let’s go. Get in the carriage.”
“?”
Hu-Am took me to a tavern in the heart of the Capital.
Ordinary.
Neither loud nor lavish.
“I come here sometimes. Libel and Mariam have both been here a few times with me. This is your first time.”
As I settled awkwardly into a seat, Hu-Am poured whiskey into my glass.
“Why are you doing this?”
“You did well.”
“…Pardon?”
“I brought you here to give you a drink in praise. It’s a tradition dating back to your grandfather’s time.”
I wondered if I’d heard wrong, but I hadn’t.
Hu-Am—no, my ‘father’—was looking at me with eyes bright with something like joy.
“I’ve heard every detail of your progress, nothing left out. You’re doing well. I’m truly proud.”
My throat tightened.
At those words, my chest wavered, unbidden.
Praise from ‘Father.’
Something she had never heard before, not once in all her years.

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