Reborn as the Head of the Stolen Mage Family

Chapter 57

After the experiment, I was carried to my room by the servants.

Since I was still acting as if I had lost consciousness, there would be no one looking for me until at least tomorrow morning.

"Haaa... Whooo......"

As soon as the presence disappeared, I got up, regulated my breathing, and focused my mind.

I calmly repeated the process of converting and refining the absorbed power.

After doing that for a long while, the external magic absorbed through the elixir was finally fully integrated into my own magic.

I finally let out a sigh of relief.

‘No matter how much it's the tail's role to test items, they sure are cruel in how they use them.’

I sat down at the desk and gave a bitter smile.

My burned wrists were fine now, but the memory of the pain was still vivid.

And what about the words Sylvia had whispered as a new memory before I left the underground storage?

"The experiment ended without any discomfort, making my nervousness seem pointless. Although I fainted after the potion test due to poor condition management, the thought of having helped Master Marcel and repaid the family's grace made you feel so proud."

If I were an ordinary tail, today's experiment would have remained as a good memory, and I would have gladly complied with the next experiment.

The pain felt in my subconscious would have become a fetter of unknown fear.

But this was the last time the Kirhausens could use a tail as a test subject.

My hand holding the pen moved busily across the notebook.

[Sylvia - Homunculus - Pasquier - Mana Bloodstone/Elixir - Furas]

I drew a simple diagram, scribbling on the paper.

Next to the listed nouns, I wrote down the information I had grasped, as if adding annotations.

"I've found out quite a bit."

The completed diagram contained a good deal of previously unknown information and plausible possibilities.

I also felt quite triumphant that these were things I found out from an experiment I was subjected to as punishment.

I looked forward to the day I could scoff at Furas, who thought he had sanctioned me.

I suppressed the gently simmering thrill and sank into thought.

‘The missing links are still unknown. Let's start digging from the side with the most clues.’

The hottest potato was, of course, Sylvia's identity.

Was she really a homunculus?

Who created her and under what orders was she working for the Kirhausens?

The surest way to confirm was to meet Sylvia alone and use Reverse.

For that, the recent participation in the experiment was slightly insufficient.

As expected, Marcel was the key.

He had to quickly reveal that his magic had become unstable, creating a pretext for me to meet Sylvia.

‘If he tries to keep his mouth shut until the end, I'll have to make a move myself….’

I wrote down Marcel's name, even underlining it, and then moved on.

Next were Pasquier, the Mana Bloodstone, and the elixir.

And regarding the one referred to as ‘teacher’ who was linked to them.

Common sense dictated that the most likely identity of the teacher was Joan.

Since Pasquier was where the elixir was synthesized using the Mana Bloodstone, it was the most rational guess.

But I soon shook my head and denied it.

No matter how I thought about it, it was strange for Sylvia to address Joan with the honorific ‘teacher’.

Unless Joan was the very person who had created her, a homunculus.

But that too wasn't very likely.

‘The possibility of Pasquier creating not only Mana Bloodstones and elixirs but also homunculi is low. It's too big a risk for the Empire's greatest magic tower to take.’

Moreover, the fact that Joan was from the Candia tribe lowered the possibility even more.

Neither Joan herself nor her superior, Furas, would commit the foolish act of gathering risk factors in one place.

In the end, there was only one conclusion.

Pasquier was merely a point of connection.

The Kirhausens provided supplies, including Mana Bloodstones.

An external force provided the technology for things like homunculus creation and the magic-absorbing elixir.

It was hard to believe, but it was the most plausible theory for now.

I wrote down the conclusion I had reached in the notebook.

"Whoo......"

The diagram was finally filled in and neatly organized.

After staring at the diagram for a moment, I took out my wand and waved it lightly over the notebook.

Swoosh-

The contents written in the notebook then floated up into the air and entered my mind.

The emptied notebook became as clean as if nothing had ever been written on it.

Unlike at the academy, Shainborough was right in the middle of enemy territory.

Leaving behind any evidence or room for suspicion was out of the question.

Just then, my senses sharpened.

Directly upstairs.

I felt a turbulent energy from Marcel's room.

I hadn't paid attention to it until now, but the magic I had planted in Marcel was reacting to it for the first time in a while.

I closed my eyes for a moment and gauged Marcel's state.

‘What a sight.’

Marcel's energy was not just turbulent; it was all over the place.

I could tell how unstable his emotional state was.

‘I’m the one who went through hell as a test subject, yet he's in that state just because some little plan of his went awry.’

Perhaps it was because of the hardship I had gone through.

An uncharacteristically cynical feeling arose in me, and I glared at the ceiling.

Then, I lay down on the bed, closed my eyes, and deployed the Search spell to follow Marcel's energy.

Since I couldn't carelessly leave the room until morning anyway, I figured I'd just track Marcel.

‘With that level of anxiety, he might go to confide in someone soon.’

And my prediction was spot on.

Marcel, who had been pacing in his room, grabbed something and left the room.

That what he took out was a wooden training sword, I could tell from the sound that soon came through the Tracker.

[Thwack- Thwack- Thwack-!]

Judging by the distance from the time it took for the sound of the wooden sword strikes to be heard.

The place Marcel headed to was the Fifth Training Ground within the Shainborough grounds.

Listening to the irregularly sounding strikes, I felt a sense of disappointment.

However, I could somewhat understand Marcel's reaction.

‘Right. Even at the academy, he had no one to confide in, so he would organize his thoughts while training alone.’

Here in Shainborough, it was no different from the academy.

Even the slightly soft-hearted Shane was ultimately a tutor, so it was difficult for him to be close friends with the young master.

‘Sigh. What a frustrating and pitiful guy.’

In the end, he'll probably just beat up a wooden dummy by himself and go back.

It was just as I was about to give up my expectations and withdraw the Tracker.

[Do you think you can break it by hitting it like that?]

A deep voice came through the Tracker.

The owner of the voice was the First Knight Commander, Tares.

His heavy footsteps grew closer and closer to Marcel.

[Commander.]

[Even if your goal is to vent your anger, you must maintain the correct posture. That way, you won't get hurt.]

In response to the consideration that was chiding yet not stopping him, Marcel let out a small, bitter laugh.

Along with it, Marcel's energy quickly and steadily regained its stability.

I gauged Marcel's energy and found it interesting.

‘Come to think of it, the day before I left for the academy, he also told me to help Marcel well. It seems their relationship is closer than I thought.’

Regardless of my thoughts, Marcel and Tares continued their conversation while sparring.

The ongoing conversation naturally flowed to the grade representative election.

[I heard that you received many votes in the recent grade representative election but voluntarily withdrew. I also heard the news that Eddie did not withdraw and became the vice president. Is that true?]

[…You've already heard everything, why bother asking again.]

[The young master I know is not one to act in such a way, so I am checking by hearing it directly. Words can be distorted even when passed through just one person's mouth.]

Stern, yet gentle.

From my perspective as well, it was a consistent attitude in a good way.

At Tares' attitude, Marcel opened up for the first time.

[Yes, I wanted to get rid of that guy somehow, so I told him not to withdraw until the very end. I intended to make him fall out of father's favor and eventually get him kicked out.]

[Was there a reason for you to go that far with the assistant boy?]

[Every single word, every single action gets on my nerves and drives me crazy!]

Thwack-!

Along with the rather loud sound of the wooden sword strike, Marcel's voice also became somewhat agitated.

[While he possesses an ability I can't even dream of, he controls his power in tests and deliberately writes wrong answers on assignments. Do you know how miserable I felt being praised for having a higher rank than a guy like that?!]

[…….]

It was an emotional side of Marcel that he had never shown to anyone in the family.

Tares listened to Marcel's complaints without a word.

So that he could pour out all his pent-up emotions.

As if emboldened by that, Marcel poured out his words without rest.

[When I think about how ridiculous I must have looked in his eyes, I jolt awake from my sleep. To the eyes of an orphan who has never received any early education, how insignificant must I, the next head of a prestigious magic family yet inferior to him, have seemed.]

[So you chose to get him out of your sight instead of catching up to him?]

[…….]

Tares let out a deep sigh and continued.

[His Lordship must have already known everything. That you withdrew, young master, to corner that boy.]

[What do you mean… No, father thinks I did it to give the Dickens a proper blow. Besides, he also said that Eddie not withdrawing was all due to that guy's ambition…….]

[Young master. How can you still not know your father after all you've been through? How can His Lordship not notice what even I, who have only held a sword my entire life, have noticed?]

[……!]

Marcel gasped in surprise.

Hearing that, I let out a smirk.

My thoughts were the same as Tares'.

As soon as Furas heard the process and result of the representative election, he must have figured out Marcel's intention.

He might have been displeased at first.

But as it happened, the result turned out to be the best for the Kirhausens.

So Furas, instead of scolding him for withdrawing, praised him, thereby shutting Marcel's mouth.

‘He put on a plausible facade of a magnanimous person, saying things like the tail's ambition is natural, to nip any rebellion from Marcel regarding the tail issue in the bud.’

If Marcel had seen one step ahead, Furas had seen two.

And I, predicting this flow from three steps ahead, had created this representative election result.

Marcel fell silent.

It was understandable that he would be shocked.

Because he had just learned that his father's big praise, which he had received after a long time, was actually a move to cut off the bud of rebellion.

[If you were uncomfortable with Eddie, it would have been better to gather your courage and tell His Lordship honestly. Because you tried to use uncharacteristic scheming, you ended up being on the receiving end, didn't you?]

[Could it be… that Eddie… read this entire situation and made his move… Is he a guy with that much foresight…….]

[He is a bright child, so it's not impossible. But that is not what's important right now. What's important is that you, young master, couldn't overcome your inferiority complex and tried to throw away an opportunity to grow properly yourself.]

[……!]

I was also surprised by Tares' words.

It wasn't just because of his foresight in grasping even my inner thoughts.

Still, he was the next head of the family, yet he used the word ‘inferiority complex’ without hesitation.

I could see that the two were much closer than I had thought.

While I was tense, for some reason, I also felt relieved.

Marcel seemed to feel the same way, as he spoke in a much softer voice.

[I tried to make an effort. I followed his advice on assignments and earned extra points. But in the end, my energy became a mess from being conscious of him, and even my magic became unstable.]

[Isn't that something that can be resolved if you steel your heart more, young master? Instead of feeling inferior because he is more outstanding, use that outstanding boy to become stronger. That will give more weight to your claim that you don't want to have a tail.]

[……I understand.]

Marcel's voice was a little downcast.

However, his unstable energy, on the contrary, regained complete stability.

It was then, as a comfortable silence continued.

[Commander Clifford's words are a masterpiece.]

Breaking the silence, a third person's voice was heard.