Chapter 290
Chapter 290
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 290
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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“…….”
I forgot to say, “Please take care of me too.” Instead, I smiled and took his hand. The moment I grasped it, Leonard blinked rapidly. From the way his gaze shifted, it seemed he was startled by the mana emanating from me.
“Then, Teacher. I’ll see you after class.”
The crown prince’s secretary said that and led the other attendants away.
After class ended, I’d get evaluations from both sides. The king thought well of me, but I couldn’t deny a bit of tension.
“Teacher.”
Once everyone was gone, Leonard beckoned me over, as if telling me to follow. A typical five-year-old might tug an adult along or wander around nearby, but he didn’t.
‘…He’s so mature….’
It made sense—he’d been trained to act like an adult since he started walking—but it still overlapped with the personality I knew. In this way, he didn’t seem much different from seventeen-year-old Leo. Of course, I knew they were the same person, yet I still couldn’t fully believe it. He felt like a separate being from the seventeen-year-old Leo. And in some sense, he really was.
Me from twenty-first-century Korea and me from the nineteenth-century German Empire were severed in one direction.
I’d inherited much from my ten-years-ago self, but at the same time, that past me felt like an entirely different person from the current one—someone I could scarcely believe was continuous. Whether trapped in another’s body or with time rewound, my mind hadn’t escaped the one-way timeline; it marched forward. Even if I lived twenty-three years in Luca’s body, I’d fundamentally differ from my past self at twenty-three in my original body. And even if I returned to my body at exactly twenty-three, I could never be the same as before coming here. The human mind changes under the pressure of time, whether from external or internal experiences. A single drop from the eaves pierces stone. This boy might grow into the person I knew—or he might not. Fundamentally, I had to treat him as a different person. I couldn’t handle five-year-old Leo like the seventeen-year-old one.
‘Of course, gathering info from this era to use on seventeen-year-old Leo is another matter entirely.’
No matter what, he was still part of that seventeen-year-old Leo. Even if the reverse didn’t hold.
I sat at the table in the middle of the garden where Leonard led me. Only his chair was raised higher. A breeze carried the scent of blooming roses past my nose.
“Now, since it’s our first day, before diving into serious lessons, let’s take some time to get to know each other a bit.”
Leonard nodded with a smile.
“Why does Your Highness like combat magic? I’ve heard your passion for it is unmatched.”
I hadn’t actually heard it—I knew from future knowledge. Leonard answered calmly, without flinching.
“Because a monarch must protect his subjects.”
“A monarch protects his subjects through politics. Instead of fighting on the front lines yourself, Your Highness will one day sit in the heart of Munich, commanding the army. It’s true you should be knowledgeable in combat magic for that reason, but I’ve heard you have a particular passion and interest in it over other fields like tactics or magical medicine. I want to know why.”
“…….”
“Answer honestly. I’m here as your teacher. I’ll decide the direction of our lessons based on your reason.”
“…Magic….”
Leonard finally averted his gaze like he was dodging, looking elsewhere as he mumbled.
“…is pretty because of the light.”
“…….”
Ah, this is fun. He’s pulling a prank he never would’ve in the past. No way I’d hear something like this from seventeen-year-old Leo. Even if I did, it’d be something casual like, “I like how it glows when you swing the wand,” said in a flat tone.
But if I teased him more here, that kid’s mouth would start running.
“I see.”
“Pardon?”
“Very well. Then rather than separating theory and practice, it’d be better to flow straight from one to the other.”
A bright smile spread across Leonard’s face. Seventeen-year-old Leo only gave class-president smiles and was mostly expressionless around us. He smiled often when bantering with me, but those were more smirks than genuine ones. This unreserved grin when pleased was something you rarely saw from bigger kids, let alone adults.
With that thought, I tossed out a somewhat abrupt question.
“Did Your Highness perhaps come by my room yesterday?”
“…!”
The smile vanished from Leonard’s face instantly. It turned into that classic guilty-kid expression—pale and frozen. He met my eyes without looking away and answered softly.
“Yes.”
No lies, huh. That’s him all right. Seventeen-year-old Leo would’ve snapped something irritated like, “Yeah, so what?” But this seventy-month-old Leo’s reaction was amusing. Suppressing my playfulness, I asked,
“Why?”
“…Since I’ve only learned theoretical magic so far, it was my first time having a combat magic wizard as a teacher, so I was curious.”
Now that I looked, he could speak at length too. Kids mumbled, sure, but he was clearer than I’d expected.
“Hm, I’m the first, then. An honor.”
Leo hadn’t seriously delved into combat magic until he saw Luca’s after this—over half a year from now. Right now was just a taste, so it made sense.
At my words, Leonard just smiled and then asked,
“I have a question too. What’s that in your ear?”
Ice ran through my veins for a moment.
That in my ear? The core-punching position tracker artifact. Made with this kid’s mana, no less.
But in a world where every wizard used artifacts, why ask about this one?
Was it linked to this five-year-old’s core? No way. If so, I’d be…
“…Just an earring.”
“It’s an artifact. Did you make it yourself? Or where’d you get it?”
Leonard corrected me and pressed.
That persistence confirmed it. This was Leo. The past version of that seventeen-year-old Leo. Instead of answering, I tapped the table lightly with my finger.
“Your Highness. Is your core all right?”
“It’s fine. Why?”
As expected, sharp Leonard caught the connection between my gesture and question, mimicking it as he asked.
‘…Good.’
It wasn’t linked to this Leonard’s core. No regicide charges for me.
“Just wondering. This artifact was a gift from a friend. Anyway, any favorite foods?”
I changed the subject.
After that, we chatted idly. It was a necessary step to win over any student’s heart. His young age made it easy.
As Leonard started tiring, I brought up something to pique his interest.
“Alright, shall we try some magic?”
“…! Yes!”
Revitalized, Leonard dashed to an open patch in the garden. I stood before him, and he drew his wand confidently, pointing it lightly at me.
I touched the pale blue mana spreading in the air. Even without healing magic mixed in, it barely stung. Compared to seventeen-year-old Leo, it had no aggression.
Perfect for magical medicine, but problematic for his desired combat magic path.
‘He must’ve worked hard.’
His mana now hurt if you took it head-on without thinking. Hadn’t Leo said it himself? Even if suited for healing, its lingering aggression required polishing to use properly.
Leonard watched me tensely, so I smiled and replied.
“Your mana is pure. Objectively excellent. Now, before we start seriously—did you see my mana yesterday?”
The guards had arrived before the king, so maybe he’d been there. I’d heard later no royals were present, just guards, but I asked anyway.
Leonard tensed and nodded.
“I saw it from afar. But I want to see it up close.”
From afar?
Anyway. I stood, rolling my wand in my hand to shift it to a staff.
“I’ll show you properly after class. For now, I’ll launch a light attack. Try dodging.”
“Yes!”
I swung my staff lightly.
Leonard panicked, eyes widening as he leaped back and threw up a barrier.
“Urk!”
Just before my mana hit his barrier, I pulled the staff back, retracting the mana. Leonard nimbly noticed and turned, catching his breath. Smiling, I said,
“When there’s a big gap in mana capacity or skill, it’s best not to use a barrier if possible.”
“Wh-why…?”
“Barriers break easily. Unless you can immediately disperse the shattering mana, you take secondary damage. Like glass breaking—like this.”
I erected a barrier, then drew a bit of Leo’s mana orbiting my core to shatter it. I caught a fragment, showed the break, and scattered it into the air.
“It’d dissipate on its own eventually, but that’s too late. And even if it holds, dodging is priority. The light and sound disrupt your senses.”
“Ah….”
All from what Leo had taught me.
Now I was teaching it to another Leo.
Felt strange.
“For now, we’ll practice dodging attacks with just your body. This is combat magic basics.”
“…Got it! Let’s go again.”
“Sure.”
I’d expected tears if it got tough, given his age, but he didn’t. His temperament was steady, and his passion for learning strong.
Thus, the lesson ended after two hours.
‘What?’
Was this really a kid?
Seventy months old focusing for two straight hours? Normal kids managed thirty to forty minutes tops. Even new humanity kids had superior stamina, but this involved mental endurance too—they didn’t train two hours straight.
Leonard, unfazed, wiped sweat while staring at my wand.
“Your Highness, don’t overdo it. That’s enough for today.”
“Yes.”
‘Nah, he’s tired after all.’
That magic maniac always bullied me for “five more minutes,” so this ended cleaner than expected.
Leonard plopped down. I handed him the child’s elixir I’d gotten from his secretary.
“Drink.”
“Thank you.”
“Fun?”
His eyes sparkled as he answered my question.
“Super fun.”
‘Honest kid….’
I nodded, sat beside him, and peppered him with trivial questions.
“Any unique ability?”
“Yes.”
He snapped his fingers. Plants sprouted around my seat.
‘Wait, could it be….’
This era’s Leo hadn’t developed his unique ability yet. The plants he grew didn’t creep carnivorously upward; they just stretched straight.
“Your Highness, try bending this plant with your unique ability.”
“Bend it?”
Leonard flailed confusedly.
I gently grasped and tilted the stem.
“No, like this…”
“Huh?”
Leonard’s eyes widened. He stared blankly between me and the plant.
I was doing the same.
“…Gasp…!”
I shot up belatedly. The moment I bent it, pale green stems sprouted like vines from the soil around.
Leonard blurted in garbled speech.
“T-Tea-teacher has a unique ability too…!”
“No?!”
“Pardon?”
This wasn’t my ability. It was Leo’s. How was it mine?
I spun and strode to the garden’s edge. Leonard called from behind. Sitting in the corner, hand on soil—blue leaves sprouted from barren brown earth.
Goosebumps prickled my skin.
‘…What the hell…. Why? Why…? What triggered this?’
Unique ability copy? Holy crap. Composing myself as if nothing happened, I returned to Leonard. Not the time to dwell.
“Your Highness, this isn’t my ability.”
“Pardon? But just now…”
“Maybe Your Highness succeeded in bending it?”
“But…”
“Congratulations. You’ve got real talent. Keep doing that.”
Smiling, I patted his shoulder to divert him. He looked confused if it was genuine praise.
Regathering my scattered wits, I shifted topics.
“That’s class for today; time to wrap up. Any magic you’d like to see?”
“…! You’ll cast what I request?!”
“Well, nothing too hard.”
“Th-then something flashy…”
“Hm.”
“I couldn’t appreciate your magic properly while dodging earlier. I want to see it closely this time.”
“Alright…”
So you.
‘No, do more. Cast more’ would be rude, so this polite version was better, maybe.
What to do? Covenant magic was flashiest, but no covenant to make. No high-aggression spells either—regicide risk.
Perfect option: divine protection magic. I’d mix in mana.
I lightly slammed my staff down.
—For the elect who are lost, He comes to seek and save them.
Boom—
Air burst with blue mana surging up the staff, fanning outward. It whipped my hair back.
Leonard’s mouth fell open. His sky-blue eyes glowed bright.
“Like fire.”
“Yeah?”
“Like blue fire.”
“…….”
I nodded. Divine light followed, flowing on the wind around us. Leonard stared entranced at the glowing garden. He cupped some fading divine power in his hand, then looked up at me intently and said,
“Do it once more.”
“…….”
A chill crept up my neck. His eyes unchanged. That eerily bright gaze pierced not my eyes, but what lay within. That exact look had survived twelve years into the future.
To think it started here—his magic passion was real.
Matching his eye level, I sat and flared mana in my hand. His eyes turned summer-sky blue again. Without looking away, Leonard murmured,
“Is there another wizard in the world who casts magic like this?”
“There is. Around your age—I’d like to introduce you.”
“There is?!”
“Yes. Get along when you meet. You can play with him later.”
“‘Later’?”
“You’ll meet someday.”
Not what he meant, apparently—Leo shook his head.
“What about Teacher?”
“You’ll study with me too, but when you go to school, you won’t need a personal tutor. It’s a boarding school; hard to assign one. Play with that friend then.”
“…….”
“It’s far off, so focus on my lessons now to build skill. Understood?”
“Yes.”
Leonard nodded, face thoughtful and slightly darkened.
Three days passed like that.
Something felt off. What was wrong with those last words? That’s all nagging me now.
To evade the trailing five-year-old, I moved around the estate gardens. For three days straight, Leonard sought me out after class like glue. He even tried skipping lessons often.
‘Kids do that sometimes.’
I’d briefly taught students. When teacher and student were young with a suitable age gap, kids treated teachers like big brothers. Possible only with good, young students.
I’d anticipated some following. But this exceeded expectations.
‘Something from the end must’ve hooked him. He’s winning with mana alone… but this is too much.’
I barely got eight hours alone a day. He had a nanny—that new-humanity secretary handled childcare—but it felt like I’d taken it on.
I wanted some alone time.
Meanwhile, I’d hit twenty-four hours of time dilation, leveling it up again. Now one hour here was two minutes outside. Twenty-four hours was forty-eight minutes. Faster than in Phleroma’s world, so no more upgrades. Even a hundred days here was under a day outside—not too bad, and it advanced my birthday goal enough. The king’s birthday was ten days off; eight outside hours would do.
I cast concealment and lay in the woods behind the crown prince’s palace. Cool shade soothed my head.
Crack—
A twig snapped nearby. Human. Lifting my head, a familiar face appeared.
‘…This guy.’
“You shouldn’t say stuff like that to kids~”
Emanuel Wittelsbach grinned down at me. Unlike before, no formal attire—just a loose shirt. Definitely Elias’s type no matter how you sliced it.
Why here? How’d he know?
Dispelling concealment to rise, Emanuel waved me off.
“No, stay down. Sorry to interrupt your rare rest. But… hahaha, you went to His Highness and he cried all day, huh.”
To me, whom he’d met once?
And I knew who cried. Wouldn’t feel bad to seventeen-year-old Leo—he wouldn’t cry anyway—but five-year-old did.
“It wasn’t something to cry over.”
“Kids might seem clueless, but they understand everything. You told Crown Prince His Highness you’d part when he goes to school, right?”
That was the gist.
Seeing me silent, Emanuel chuckled leisurely, pointing to his dark circles.
“King His Majesty suffered so much they reached here. What if you hand him a lifetime kingdom wizard contract now?”
“…That’d be…”
Emanuel nodded in agreement and uncorked a bottle. He tilted it, offering.
“Thanks, but no.”
He nodded, swigged, wiped his mouth, and said,
“Kids are tough, huh? Even if they leave soon, don’t say it outright. Act like you’ll play forever.”
“…….”
“Later, they’ll get distracted elsewhere and won’t care if you go. That’s when you slip away naturally.”
Someday this Leonard would see Luca’s magic. Interest might wane then.
“I see. But does Your Highness Emanuel think I’ll leave?”
“Feels like you’ll quit the tutor gig quick.”
“No plans to.”
“Doesn’t seem like you’ll stay in the kingdom long… Nor flee abroad forever. Dunno why I feel that.”
Ignoring me, he swigged again and murmured low,
“You came looking for someone here.”
I glanced up at him.
Emanuel Wittelsbach’s half-lidded eyes darkened in the woods’ shadow, smile faint.
“Why look for an Austro-Hungarian Empire person?”