Reborn as the Head of the Stolen Mage Family

Chapter 12

“Young Master…! That’s enough!”

“Please, take care of yourself first and try again later!”

The two tutors, along with everyone else, tried to stop Marcel.

A single spar was sufficient for the connection.

The absorption effect wouldn’t be significant yet.

Moreover, if Marcel were to be defeated again, Furas, upon hearing of it, would surely be furious.

But Marcel ignored their pleas and raised his wand.

“…”

I, Eddie, smiled faintly as I observed Marcel, whose temperament was exactly as I had anticipated.

And then—

‘Getting cocky after just one spar, huh? Fine. Let’s see what happens when the heir of the Kirhausen Family gets serious.’

Marcel misinterpreted my smile as provocation.

Our wands were aimed at each other once more.

Swish—!

With simultaneous wand movements, I cast the same spell as before.

But unlike the first spar, Marcel unleashed a 3-star fire attribute spell.

Our spells clashed head-on once again.

I drew up my mana to its fullest.

This time, however, I tapped into the mana I had infused into Marcel’s body.

A power struggle unfolded within Marcel’s body between two sources of mana.

But there was no way Marcel’s purified mana, prepared for absorption, could withstand my refined mana.

In the end—

Thump.

‘What… what’s this?’

As Marcel’s eyes widened at the strange, alien sensation coursing through his mana circle and body—

KWAAAA—!

A massive burst of flames erupted from Marcel’s wand.

The flames vaporized my water attribute spell in an instant and surged toward me with overwhelming force.

“Ugh…!”

With a sharp groan, I tumbled out of the sparring arena.

Unlike when Marcel had fallen, no one rushed to check on my condition.

I understood the family members’ cold reaction.

The spectacle they had just witnessed must have been shocking.

“Im… impossible…”

The first to speak was Shane.

He stared back and forth between Marcel and me, unable to close his gaping mouth.

‘The absorption effect in such a short time… was this powerful?’

The servants and Ronan, who had witnessed the same scene, were equally stunned.

Marcel, who had always been berated by Furas as inadequate, had just produced flames of such immense scale.

Everyone present surely thought, ‘The effect of absorbing Eddie’s mana is truly remarkable.’

Then—

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The sound of rhythmic applause echoed through the training ground.

“Magnificent, Young Master!”

It was Sylvia, her face beaming with delight as she clapped.

As she praised Marcel, the servants soon followed suit, applauding.

Step, step.

Amid the family members’ praise, Marcel silently descended from the sparring stage.

But his expression was filled with confusion and doubt.

‘Did I… really do that?’

It was the first time he had felt such an intense surge of power.

‘Could it be that his provocation spurred me on? Is that why I unleashed such power…?’

Marcel glanced at me, now being tended to by a few servants, and pondered deeply.

No one had ever provoked him like that before.

To think that a mere assistant would dare smile during a spar with the heir of the Kirhausen Family—it was unthinkable.

‘And in the first spar, I fell so disgracefully.’

Perhaps that was why. At the start of the second spar, his blood boiled, and his mana surged violently in response.

“I’ve told you time and again, haven’t I? The Young Master possesses exceptional potential; it’s merely taken time to blossom,” Sylvia added, sealing Marcel’s thoughts in that direction.

His untapped potential, which had never been unleashed before.

And the provocation from his assistant, Eddie, which, though infuriating, had drawn it out.

Concluding as much, Marcel returned to the mansion, escorted by the servants.

But out of concern that his magic might have burned me, he couldn’t help but glance back.

***

Marcel’s overwhelming victory over me in the spar was reported to Furas through Sylvia.

The next day, several changes came my way.

First, I was to accompany Marcel in all his activities.

Of course, this was for the sake of mana absorption.

Once the preliminary work was complete, simply keeping the Well and the Deer together would facilitate the process.

Unaware of this, Marcel expressed discomfort with the sudden close-knit schedule with me, but each time, Sylvia would say,

“The entrance exam is almost here, so you should get used to having Eddie by your side.”

Second, I was given access to high-quality materials secured by the family for the entrance exam.

Until now, Shane had taught me only the basics, common to any magical training school.

But things were different now.

I was tasked with solving a collection of past exam questions for the academy’s written test and mastering spells known to score highly in the practical exam.

This change meant one thing:

My value as a Well was deemed exceptional.

And—

‘The current Kirhausen head must see me as Marcel’s high-capacity fuel tank.’

I decided to keep exploiting this situation.

The deeper the Kirhausen Family brought me into their fold, the closer I would get to the day of my revenge.

But there was one matter that showed no progress:

Information about Palamedes, scattered somewhere out there.

Planting Tracker on the family’s servants wasn’t enough.

Even as insiders, the servants’ knowledge was limited, and few knew much about Palamedes.

‘In the end, I’ll have to find a way to investigate outside the family.’

As I pondered deeply, Shane suddenly thrust a stack of documents at me.

“Here’s a list of anticipated interview questions. These are the most frequently asked questions from the past five years’ academy entrance interviews. Memorize them all.”

Lost in thought, I took the documents and subtly hardened my expression.

‘Hoo…’

Life as a Tail was useful for my revenge… but it was also quite a hassle.

The sheer volume of documents Shane handed me was daunting.

To avoid suspicion and remain in the family as a Tail, I had to at least partially master their contents.

‘But still… this is too time-consuming.’

Swallowing a sigh, I flipped open the first page.

At this rate, I might end up an academy student again without even finding a trace of Palamedes.

And to top it off, I’d be serving Ivan’s grandson as a Tail.

“The first page contains information on the academy’s key figures and distinguished alumni. These are important people likely to come up in the interview, so memorize them too,” Shane’s voice cut through my thoughts as I turned the page.

He was right.

Names, family affiliations, positions in the academy, major achievements—

Information to prepare for questions about admired academy figures and why.

‘Thorough.’

I slowly scanned the dozens of photos and profiles.

As my eyes moved upward from the bottom, they reached the topmost entry.

“…!”

My eyes quietly widened.

“…Leo…?”

Without realizing it, I murmured the name before me.

The figure at the top of the academy’s key personnel list:

The list of his achievements was nothing short of dazzling.

A grand mage of the empire and the 75th dean of Lieferden Imperial Academy.

A figure who earned the title “Prophet of Mana” from the imperial family for his numerous contributions to the magical world.

But there was crucial information even these meticulously prepared documents failed to include.

Leodimir Duke Devens.

He was a core member of Palamedes and the prized disciple of Edmund von Kirhausen.

Of course, Shane, unaware of this, continued his fervent explanation about the entrance interview.

“…”

My ears didn’t catch a word as my gaze remained fixed on Leodimir’s photo.

“Ha.”

Finally, a small burst of irrepressible joy escaped my lips.

To think one of my disciples was sitting in the dean’s chair at the academy.

This was news more powerful than the existence of the Pantheon or any secret techniques.

‘And of all people, it’s Leo who’s become dean. This is perfect.’

Looking at Leodimir’s photo, I felt another surge of joy and pride.

Leo held special significance to me, Edmund, from my past life.

Despite my fame sweeping the empire, I took only five disciples in my lifetime, and for good reason.

The empire’s greatest grand mage.

The envy, scrutiny, corruption, slander, and schemes that came with it.

The growing number of enemies and countless battles.

A chaotic, even ruthless, world of intrigue.

Becoming my disciple meant making enemies of much of the world.

Yet, there was a high noble’s son who sought to be my first disciple.

That was Leodimir Duke Devens, the second son of House Devens.

‘You’ve done splendidly without your foolish master, Leo.’

The last time I saw my prized disciple, he was in his middle years.

But in the photo, he had become an elderly grand mage.

My gaze remained locked on the dean’s photo.

Shane paused his explanation and looked where my eyes were fixed.

He nodded, as if understanding my reaction.

“Yes, that’s Dean Devens of Lieferden Academy. A key figure who will definitely come up in the interview, so memorize it thoroughly.”

Key figure.

At his emphasized words, I lifted my head.

“Key figure? Because he’s the dean?”

“Of course, that’s part of it. He’s considered the greatest dean in the academy’s history. He’s served three consecutive terms as dean.”

My eyes lit up with surprise once more.

Not only because I was belatedly learning of my disciple’s success, but also—

‘Three consecutive terms as dean? That eccentric guy?’

As the interview discussion ended, Shane moved on to explain the entrance exam scores.

Unlike before, when I had been half-listening, I began to focus.

‘I hope the privileges for the top and second-place scorers in the entrance exam are still in place.’

Soon, Shane said exactly what I wanted to hear.

“Traditionally, the top and second-place scorers in the entrance exam are granted a private meeting with the dean before enrollment…”

‘Yes.’

The fastest way to meet Leodimir, the academy’s dean.

I smiled triumphantly to myself.