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Reborn as the Doomed Heir of a Mage Dynasty (Web Novel) - Chapter 210
Chapter 210
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
Even if its His Majestys decision, I cant wrap my head around it. Its supposed to be a mage group prioritizing safetydont you think this is too much?At the words of the person across from him, a young Old Human laughed quietly. Wearing glasses and a suit, he exuded the aura of an educated upper-class scholar. He called the waiter to order food and said.
Exactly. I had the same thought.
Right? Nobody wouldnt feel that way right now.
Yes, but
The pub, open for only a short while, grew crowded as evening hit. The sudden surge in noise made them turn toward the entrance.
A group of Old Humans entered, laughing loudly and chatting.
Saw the footagehe did well.
Nah, brains? Any sharp kid fresh out of a gymnasium could do it. Theres so much talentwhy pick a Pleroma?
Hes not Pleroma, is he? Kinda shady, but if he really wasnt, His Majesty wouldnt have chosen him.
Could be they cooked up a story with the hospital. Far as Im concerned, he volunteered to suck blood.
How exactly someone would drink runaway human blood, or whether the Imperial Court would just stand by, wasnt something they considered. They didnt need truthjust a sensational story to blow off steam.
Haha, youre pissed. Gonna throw eggs at the inauguration?
Middle school kids are already planning. Theyre like, Let him step out of the Imperial Court after the ceremony
Kids are wild.
The Old Humans sat, cackling.
The evening paper was out, but since it was just released, everyone was still steeped in the mornings articles.
The hostility sparked by the media manifested like this.
The young man, interrupted mid-sentence, muttered as he watched them.
Theyre on the same topic.
The capital was abuzz with mage-world talk today.
Especially the fact that a Pleroma student took first place, stirring the mundane lives of countless Old Humans.
Listening closely, every table in the pubten out of tenwas discussing it. His companion shrugged with a smile.
Probably the whole countrys talking about it today. His Majesty letting a Pleroma into the Imperial Court?
The bespectacled Old Human nodded vaguely, then tossed out a new angle.
But doesnt it seem odd?
What?
Its bound to cause misunderstanding, so why let Lucas Askanian into the Imperial Court?
.
His companion tilted his head slightly.
The real question is why they put him in, knowing itd spark this talk.
Exactly, thats the curious part. The Imperial Court didnt think it through, did they?
The Imperial Court, thoughtless? Thats almost an insult to them.
The mood-shifting comment briefly silenced nearby tables. The two Old Humans glanced around, startled, as the pub slowly regained its chatter.
But even as they resumed talking, the pubs attention subtly lingered on the two young intellectuals.
From the Imperial Courts perspective, maybe they *had* to include Askanian? I think theres something we dont know.
Like what?
Last year, that student changed completely, like he was reborn. Doesnt that seem suspicious? Its hard to see him as the same person. And now the Imperial Court Maybe there was a deal between His Majesty and Anhalt.
What kind?
The young man lowered his voice, as if it was too sensitive to say aloud. His companion shook his head, stunned.
No way. Haha, even if thats true, why give him first place? Thats a key you dont reveal lightly.
Thats the point. Maybe the higher-ups wanted this reaction? Well criticize him anyway, so no issue. Separately, its time to use him, so they acknowledge his ability. Keeping him hidden means you cant utilize him.
Even without knowing the exact details, the pubs focus was glued to them.
If not for this, how could a Pleroma enter the Imperial Court? Theres definitely something only the nobles know. We all know they dont share info with us.
The man, deep in thought, lowered his voice.
That thing you mentionedits not just your theory, is it? Whered you hear it?
.
The young man scanned the room and gestured. His companion leaned in.
Though their whispers were inaudible, the pubs noise gradually quieted. Except for those too far to care, people near them exchanged meaningless chatter while sneaking glances.
Huh?
The listeners face changed completely.
He shook his head slightly, as if hed heard something unbelievable, then cleared his throat, exchanging looks with the young man like nothing happened.
.
Seeing the odd reaction, the Old Humans secretly watching them exchanged glances.
They couldnt make out the words, but they knew the two were sharing undisclosed information.
One Old Human signaled his tablemates, reaching the same conclusion, and called out.
Hey.
Yes?
Tell us more. Whats that about?
At the same time, a similar scene unfolded far from that pub.
In a rundown diner in a slum, loud shouting rang out.
Theyre insane! The Imperial Second Academy professors have lost their minds.
Hahaha, theyre not even 100? Youre 60 and not a mage*youre* the one who should be senile.
A man laughed, stabbing his meat. The clink of his fork was drowned by the shouting.
If theyre not 100, they should act sane. Whos protecting who? Letting a Pleroma roam Berlin? If theyre not senile, theyve got holes in their heads.
Hm, I think hes worth watching, but this guy keeps
No! You havent heard. Word is the Imperial Court lured him in to catch proof hes Pleroma.
What?
A middle-aged man at the back table turned. He stood out, dressed in an expensive suit.
The Old Humans, deep in Askanian talk, already tipsy from drinks, shouted louder.
Its to lower his guard! Catch proof hes Pleroma, then kill him. Why else would the Imperial Court take in a Pleroma? Right?
Whoa If thats true, His Majestys got deep plans.
That Askanians slippery. The Magic Ministrys deputys been covering for him, so they havent caught anything. That guys not right either. If he wants to climb, kill his brother. Why keep him alive? Now hes grown, untouchable. Forced the Imperial Courts hand!
But whered you hear that?
Yeah, where? Is it legit?
Emboldened by the intrigued reactions, the Old Human raised his voice.
Its legit. Wanna bet? I say that kids causing Pleroma trouble within a month
Different from what I heard.
The Old Humans turned at the sudden voice.
A middle-aged man, unfamiliar in the area, with an odd New Human vibeOld Human but wearing a wand like a New Humansat there.
The Old Humans frowned slightly.
The man at the back table laughed, shaking his head.
His Majesty didnt know this talk would spread? If you were the Emperor, what would you do?
Whats that? Butt out
I said its different from what I heard. You dont think theres a reason they took him in, despite the backlash? This is His Majestys choice. You dnt think hed put a Pleroma in that position, do you?
.
What I heard?
The Old Humans faces soured.
His Majestys determined to eliminate Pleroma. Never thought, The higher-ups know something we dont, huh?
Then what do *you* know
You said lets bet. Hey!
At that, the owner emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands, holding a thick ledger.
Already a gambling hub, he was used to this.
Without specific requests, he asked smoothly.
Yes. The subject?
Simple binary. Will Lucas Askanian cause trouble within a month or not?
Haha Theres already a similar bet. Want to join that?
Pot size?
Ten players, 100,000. All betting Pleroma, so we need the other side. Join if youre in.
Ten players, 100,000? Move it to my table.
Pardon?
At the owners question, the man pulled bills from his wallet.
700,000. I bet hes not Pleroma. Enough to lure the slippery ones?
The pub fell silent as an amount enough to cover rent for over a year was wagered.
A single pel was illegal, so 1,000 or 10,000 made no differenceyoud get caught. Thus, the pub didnt cap bets.
Given the areas low income, such a sum was rare from the start.
The owner, eyes wide, let out a hollow laugh and approached.
You new here? 100,000 is a high bet around here. Losing half a years paywhat about your family? Though maybe thats not half a year for you
Take it!
Dont stop him!
People across the pub pulled out wallets, shouting.
As the owner turned, the middle-aged man snapped his fingers to refocus him.
So, the kidll cause trouble in a month? Im confident. With guys like you, Ill be rich soon.
Im just saying you might not enjoy the outcome.
No good.
The man gestured for the owner to lean in.
After whispering, the man pulled back.
Unlike before, the owners expression flipped. Despite trying to show disbelief, he couldnt hide his half-convinced doubt.
.
Now you can round up some bettors.
Haha
You know which side to take. With so many thinking hell mess up, how could I lose?
The man looked past the owner at the customers.
Those ready to bet began exchanging glances.
Hed said he heard something. His commanding presence, casually tossing half a years pay.
That was fine, but the owners reaction was off.
Lucas Askanians Pleroma, and now in the Imperial Court, hell show his true colorsobviously the right bet. Yet this man insists on the opposite.
Even the owners face says so.
Peoples expressions hardened.
A hesitant atmosphere spread.
***
At 7 p.m.
After dinner at the Imperial Court, as Team 1 headed to Eliass room to rest, a servant approached.
A letter from the school.
Elias tore open the Imperial Second Academy envelope and checked the contents.
His lips curled up.
Does this professor only do food tours? Hes not a magic swordsmanship profhes a Berlin PhD.
I took the paper Elias handed me.
A Berlin map marked with colored Xs in ink.
Roughly twenty spots.
I let out a light laugh.
He found them well.
He worked hard collecting this in four hours from 2 p.m.
Earlier, Id told Traut to identify places in Berlin where different social classes gather, disperse, and produce gossip and rumors.
Bourgeois, workers, above-average, and the pooreach requires a different approach.
Trauts lived in Berlin long, with most of his network here.
I couldve asked students to find similar spots, but
Why would I?
Delegate when you can.
It prevents burnout.
Plus, a simple request wouldnt yield results this fast.
Blackmail made it possible.
Hes desperate to keep the story of interfering with Askanians second son by binding Becks arteries from reaching the family.
Standing and heading to the hallway, Elias slung an arm around my shoulders.
Making a professor draw a Berlin foodie map youre something else, Lucas.
Not a foodie map.
So~ Whats next? Spread rumors?
I nodded.
As Elias said before, information is the core of battle.
Making lies seem true and truth seem falsethats the path to victory.
People consume my criticism for sensational stories?
Then a different sensational story changes the game.
If both are lies, better to spread one that benefits me.
Elias. Can you warp me to the mansion now?
Huh? Of course~
Elias, about to head to his room, stopped, gripped my shoulder tightly, and snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the scene shifted to the mansions entrance.
Warping freely in the Imperial Court isnt ideal, but as students with school-verified identities, were permitted.
No reason to deny us when were stuck in the annex.
With that thought, I entered and climbed the stairs.
Elias whispered.
I know why youre here.
You do?
He would. Its Elias.
The biggest issue with my plan is that using Trauts network to spread rumors among Old Humans could backfire.
The connections Traut used to suppress my articles are my brothers loyal vassals.
I considered asking our class professor, but ironically, as a Berlin native, his network isnt as strong as Trauts. Hes also uninvolved in politics.
Traut, an Anhalt native in Berlin and an Adrian Askanian supporter, has deeper ties with like-minded people.
Naturally, overusing that network
Gives my brothers supporters ammo to say I manipulated public opinion unfairly.
Burning the house to catch a flea. Even for 30 points, I cant make such an obvious blunder.
Then why not use Divine Power to erase memories?
Good idea. I already mixed in subtle mind-control magic when ordering Traut to make the foodie map.
But using Divine Power on just Traut is one thingtracking down his network and their intel agents to do the same is impossible.
I have a more efficient method, dont I?
I elaborated to Elias, who kept nodding vigorously.
Youre probably right. Im here to ask a favor of an Old Human I know.
Oh~ As expected.
I came to send a letter to Marianne Baum.
Thats why I had Traut make the map. The person Im asking is ideal for this but lacks some intel.
Its a tough ask for her.
In the novel and here, someone whos always operated in Bavariahow would she know Berlins layout?
Asking her to mobilize Berlins Catacombs Old Humans would be an overstep, like demanding Traut block articles.
So, I need to be polite. Prepare what I can and persuade her.
Youve arrived.
Crossing the navy-blue hallway to my room, another servant greeted me.
I smiled, returned the greeting, and entered.
Hm?
A new sight in this mansion.
A letter sat on the desk.
Flipping it casually, I saw unfamiliar text.
[To D.G.]
This
Misdirected.
As I pushed it aside, Elias shook his head.
Nope, its yours. Youre one step behind, Lucas.
.
One step behind?
At Eliass words, I opened the envelope.
!
Seeing the name, I let out a small laugh.
A letter for me, addressed to Dietrich Granach.
Yeah, Eli, youre right. One step behind.
I replied, fixing my eyes on the letter.
Hed executed my plan perfectly.
Without me asking, he gathered Prussias Catacombs Old Humans and deployed them to known gathering spots. Not individuallyby teams.
[Its been over two weeks since I told you to visit the Catacombs. How havent you shown your face? Come in February.]
A playful note ended the letter.
When Marianne Baum first invited me to the Catacombs, I worried theyd shun me.
Hes essentially saying again that they dont.
Makes sense. Reading his plan for me confirms it.
The Prussia Catacombs people deployed now wouldnt do this for me unless it was their choice.
Who knew that would come back like this.
Even seeing it, I could hardly believe what I was looking at.
Every day here feels like my first. Im so used to grabbing everything myself that I never considered someone would act for me without coercion.
His timings unreal. Insight user or what?
Its past time for my image to hit rock bottom.
The systems +10,000 proposal was perfectly timed. Nows ideal for flipping my image.
Whatever the Imperial Courts scheme, since Friday, Im an officially safe mage.
So, I should milk that benefit, right? Marianne Baum likely thinks nows the time too.
Still, Id like to hear how he knew to help.
But not now.
If things are moving this fast, I need to act quickly too.
The info from Traut pinpoints where political and media elites plant their sources.
Berlins Catacombs people know the citys layout but are mostly smallfolk.
Using political intel to find the intersection of these events should streamline things.
I slipped Trauts map into a warp-mail envelope and wrote a brief thank-you letter.
***
A decent weekend passed.
I wondered when Id have such calm days again.
It wasnt enough time to build team unity or affection, so it felt like normal school days, which made it oddly relaxing.
Not relaxed now, though.
An hour before the inauguration.
The Imperial stylist had been fussing with my hair for an hour.
While he stepped away, I whispered to my friends.
You guys live like this all the time?
Im suddenly missing my original body
Here, I just wash my face and bolt to class, so this feels like a hassle.
Tsheringen laughed.
Youre about to take the stage, Lucasthink of it as prep.
Damn royals
I dont know much about noble life, but ruling-family typesroyalsare obsessed with appearances. Waxing their hair to stone and dripping in jewelsits different.
Well a royal cant show up to a formal event looking like theyre hitting the neighborhood.
Appearing with a status-appropriate impression boosts favorability, so its worth doing. Someone else is handling itwhy refuse the advantage?
Then I realized something was off.
No
*Thud!*
I naturally said favorability when no one else can see the window.
I banged my head on the wall to snap out of it, and Elias asked, alarmed.
What, whats wrong?
Just something.
To shift gears, I opened the proposal window. Its what caused this mess, but I had no other option.
Finish it fast and move on.
Proposal 2: Gain +10,000 Favorability within the deadline (552/10,000) (111 hours, 59 minutes, 52 seconds)
0.0552% complete.
Impressive for natural growth.
Its on an upswing.
10,000 seems daunting, making it look small. These points likely came from people at school and the Imperial Court, but compared to past missions, its risen fast.
Heres why.
Lucas Rene Askanian
Title: Sir Nicolaus
Health: +4.0 [+7.0]
Mental Strength: +4.
Magic Power: ?
Skills: +5.1 [+8.1]
Impression: -4.1 (+1.7) [+3] [+8.126]
Luck: +5.
Traits: Dawn777, Divine Power, Charm (Lv.5), Retry (Lv.3)
The Impression, up 1.2 in two weeks, jumped 1.7 in 48 hours.
The media tying me to positive keywordslike mage potentialhelped.
And the Catacombs work definitely played a part.
I opened todays Dasrothe paper.
[The Imperial Courts Plan?]
Secret Imperial-Anhalt collaboration Student A, identified with Pleroma traits, actually the Imperial Courts bold anti-Pleroma strategy?
A my ass.
Its obviously me.
Thanks to Dasrothe tanking my Impression before, I know how much this tabloid sways the masses.
Definitely a win.
If one doesnt believe in Pleromas ideology, even with Pleroma traits, they can stand with our citizens. Some speculate the Imperial Court accepted Student As exam results to study ways to counter Pleroma, integrating them into the Imperial Mage Union.
These bastards just printed capital gossip verbatim. Typical for them, and since its what the Catacombs wanted, Im grateful.
Reading casually, Eliass stiff voice made me look up.
Took them long enough to bring the clothes. Giving us outfits 30 minutes beforewhats that about?
Servants brought in our formal attire, then backed away at Eliass expression.
I closed the book, eyeing the now-chilly waiting room.
Ahem Guys. Anyone wanna explain why the vibes so bad?
Ulrike asked, glancing at the team.
As usual, Heike and Ulrike, the Prussian Junker, seemed oblivious, but Elias, Leo, and Yulia looked slightly uneasy.
Theyve got reason to.
All-black long coats, red ties.
Shirts are usually white, but these three colors carry clear political weight.
Black-white-red, the colors of the German Second Empires flag.
The opposite vibe of our white-and-blue school uniforms.
Look at this outfit.
Elias clicked his tongue, smirking coldly.
Leo answered calmly.
Better than Prussian Blue.
The Imperial Court probably wanted that. Prussian Blue, used for Prussias military uniforms, was once worn by many Imperial mage teams.
But with three non-Prussian ruling-family students, they opted for the Imperial federal flags colors.
Giving us uniforms evoking Prussias military instead of the Empires was too transparent, so they stepped back.
Since this transfer post-selection wasnt negotiated, blatantly making us Prussian vassals could spark protests from Baden and Bavaria.
In this nominally democratic nation, loyalty to the Empire is loyalty to the Emperor. The black-white-red of the federal flag is also Prussias, and the Hohenzollern royal flag.
Its jut covering ones eyes, so Eliass reaction is natural.
They gave us these at the last minute because
Why else? They wont hear our protests. Even minor issues could spark diplomatic problems, but their stubbornness is something else.
Elias doesnt seem inclined to rebel here. He glanced at us, sighed deeply, and gestured.
The servants approached him.
After that, I sank into thought as the inauguration neared.
I prepared all weekend for todayits gotta pay off.
If I dont wrap this proposal up at the inauguration, the 30 points are gone.
People within my perceivable range.
That was the last favorability criteria.
Whats my perceivable range? People in my daily life, whom I can see and interact with.
Thats what Ive learned empirically.
Then the 552 points arent all of it. So
The protocol staff entered the waiting room.
The noisy friends quieted as it was time to move.
We walked through a sunlit corridor. A massive dark brown door loomed ahead.
The drumbeat from the band, audible all along, grew louder.
The door began to open.
Countless people in the palace and guards lined up on both sides came into view, faintly in the distance.
The points I havent earned yetI can get them now.
Waaaaah!
*Ding!*
Favorability 1,000 achieved (1,000/10,000)
From that window, countless others overlapped. The notification sounds drowned out the crowds cheers.
The achievement windows updated so fast I couldnt read them, and in my panic, the final notification rang.
*Ding!*
Favorability 10,000 achieved (10,000/10,000)
Congratulations!
Proposal 2: Gain +10,000 Favorability within the deadline (10,000/10,000) succeeded!
Route 1 < Proposal 3 > confirmed.
