I considered grabbing him by the collar.

But wasting a rewind point just to satisfy my personal grudge was pointless.

I restrained myself and reached toward his hand. Or at least, I intended to—

“It was just a joke, Luca.”

With a slight curl of his eyes, he withdrew his hand.

If he wasn’t going to check, that meant I could save my points and avoid drastic measures.

That was fine by me.

But I couldn’t help but laugh.

Suppressing the urge to punch him, I stared at him expressionlessly.

“I trust you. If you say you’ve taken it, then you must have.”

“……”

What a joke.

Not even four months ago, he had forcibly made me take the medication, all for his own amusement.

“This must bring back memories.”

“Memories?”

“I was wrong.”

Adrian murmured, still resting his chin on one hand.

I remained silent, and he continued lightly.

“I won’t do it again. From now on, I’ll take care of you properly. Please, spare me…. That’s what you said, wasn’t it?”

“……”

All words I had spoken after possessing Luca’s body.

Not my own will, but words that Luca’s trauma had forced out the moment he saw his brother.

I chuckled without meaning to.

“And yet, it turns out you were actually taking your medication properly. You just made excuses because you were afraid. Thinking back, I realize now that I failed to trust you because of my own unnecessary concerns.”

He made it sound like he was reflecting, but he had deliberately brought up my words from before my change.

He wanted to provoke a reaction.

His smile carried the subtle weight of scrutiny.

There was no reason to give him what he wanted.

I leaned back in my chair and smirked.

“I learned a lot thanks to you, Brother. No need to feel guilty.”

What was the point of guilt when I was going to kill him anyway?

More importantly—

A new question arose.

*Why isn’t he checking my magic, despite claiming to trust me?*

The answer was likely one of the two I had already considered.

First, he assumed I had begun using magic because my transformation was too drastic to have happened without it.

It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.

After all, Luca had only managed to stay on his medication due to his overwhelming fear of Adrian.

Even with a chamberlain personally administering the doses, there were still ways to slip past it.

Second, he had obtained information that *Luca* was using magic.

At first, I thought I needed to figure out which was true to determine my next course of action.

But now—

It doesn’t matter.

Regardless of the reason, Adrian had already reached the conclusion:

Luca can use magic.

And that conclusion would inevitably lead to one action.

My death.

Whether it was social death, an actual grave, or both.

Of course, I had no intention of letting that happen.

***

Surprisingly, Adrian did nothing to me even after lunch.

All we did was read books together and drink tea.

I wasn’t hoping to end up in the basement, obviously.

But the old Adrian would have already locked me up by now.

That means his strategy has changed.

As I was considering my next move, Adrian spoke up.

“I heard you participated in the school play. I didn’t expect you to be interested in acting. When did you start enjoying it?”

“So you knew.”

“How could I not, when it’s about my brother?”

Right.

Traut must have told him.

I met his gaze calmly and replied,

“It’s not something I particularly enjoy, but I wanted to gain some experience. The same goes for the magic potion tournament.”

“Experience, huh?”

Adrian stroked his chin, smiling.

“To think my little brother has grown enough to challenge himself like this. It’s quite touching. Just half a year ago, you couldn’t even speak properly in front of others.”

“People can change at any time.”

I kept my voice steady as I observed his unfazed eyes.

“You saved my life, Brother. I didn’t want to live in a way that would disgrace you.”

He was acting strangely indifferent toward me.

On the surface, it seemed peaceful.

But I couldn’t afford to lower my guard.

This situation itself was part of his strategy.

Adrian nodded wordlessly.

Now, he was lost in thought, staring into the air.

“Yes, you’re right. People can change at any time. Your transformation from last year proves that perfectly.”

His lips curved into a gentle smile.

And then—

His next words made my ears ring.

“I’m truly happy that you’ve changed.”

“……”

Happy? That I’ve *changed*?

A cold chill ran down my spine, and I lifted the corners of my lips as I stared at him.

Hearing *this* from *him*—

I would never experience irony like this again in my life.

Still gazing out the window, Adrian continued,

“During my time in the Papal State, I’ve learned a great deal. Pleroma cores have distinct characteristics. Most of them have cracks and strong expansion properties. That’s a typical trait of cores that absorb other people’s magic through blood.”

Of course.

Vitriol was needed, just as Lichtthofen had told me.

Not that I needed to cross-check that information now.

I kept my gaze locked on Adrian, analyzing his intentions.

“For Pleroma, that may be an ideal core condition. But for *us*, it’s not. Society will never accept people who gain magic power through human blood.”

His smile was gone now.

All that remained was solemnity.

“That’s why I was always troubled. You weren’t given the chance to live a normal life like others. The way you avoided looking me in the eye, the way you struggled to even speak to the servants—it all stemmed from the stigma placed upon you.”

“……”

“It’s impressive. You’ve essentially seized your own life.”

“…Seized, you say. It sounds like you view my change quite positively, Brother.”

“How could I not be pleased? Entering the First Academy will no longer be difficult for you. You’ll make many good friends. And you’ll reclaim everything that should have been yours, one by one.”

Adrian Askanian was now smiling more brightly than I had ever seen before.

“Congratulations, Luca.”

“……”

I looked at him and smiled.

This was completely different from the past—where I never even had the chance to enter the First Academy, where I barely graduated from the Second Academy before dying.

My thoughts changed.

I need to scrap all the plans I’ve made until now.

What I just heard—this—was his strategy.

This was why he hadn’t thrown me into the basement and tormented me like last year.

Now that I saw the full picture…

If he had locked me up and resorted to the same crude tactics—

I would’ve been disappointed.

The blatant humiliation and abuse from September last year was an outdated approach.

I had changed. If he hadn’t changed, he would have been the one to lose in the long run.

My brother must have judged that my transformation was far more drastic than expected.

So he decided not to make a move until he had uncovered all the cards I was hiding.

That meant he wouldn’t kill me now, in the midst of my rapid transformation, but at the moment when he could ensure his absolute victory.

Let’s test something.

I touched the teacup he had given me earlier and took a sip.

“You said I had seized my life with my own hands.”

“That’s right.”

I placed the cup down on its saucer and snapped my fingers.

Fwoosh—!

A wave of pink-hued magic spread across the table.

I didn’t bother suppressing my output this time. I had something to confirm.

Adrian Askanian instinctively jerked his head back, his golden hair swaying with the motion.

A moment of silence passed.

Then—

A bright smile spread across his face, despite his initial surprise.

“Incredible… Truly remarkable magic, Luca. To think I would see such a hue of magic in our family.”

His eyes no longer held any anxiety, fear, or hesitation.

Not that I was particularly surprised.

You’d need this level of composure to kill someone at eleven and frame your four-year-old brother for it.

As he spoke, I opened the Probability of Change window.

Dawn 777

Final Outcome: ‘Chapter X: Death’ in 647 days, 8 hours, 59 minutes, 34 seconds

Probability of Change: 30.3%

30.3%.

Unchanged.

So even after seeing my magic firsthand, nothing shifted.

That meant my display of magic wasn’t an immediate crisis—because he had already factored it into his expectations.

In other words, the 30.3% was already the result of both positive and negative probabilities balancing out.

Good.

I closed the window and spoke.

“I wanted to show you first, Brother. And I have something else I’d like to show you—if that’s alright.”

There was still no sign of disturbance in Adrian’s demeanor.

Of course.

When the younger brother he planned to kill was voluntarily offering up information, why would he be shaken?

I reached for his forehead.

This time, I was going to use Divine Power.

Its effects weren’t as strong as a direct spell, but even if I planned to rewind time, it wouldn’t do me any good if he heard my incantation.

—“Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

A white light burst forth.

However—

Unlike others, Adrian did not fall asleep.

I expected this, but it’s still impressive.

Mental-type spells didn’t work on him.

I had already predicted this after examining his status window.

Adrian Askanian

Favorability: ?

Title: ?

Health: +10

Mental Strength: ?

Magic Power: +9

Skill: +10 [+?]

Impression: +10

Luck: +10 [-10]

Traits: Charisma (Lv.10), Tenacity (Lv.10), Chapter X (Lv.1)(!)

Previously, Ainshidel’s Magic Power was displayed as ?.

For Adrian, it was Mental Strength that remained obscured.

With all his stats maxed out, his mental fortitude was undoubtedly on another level.

He observed the particles of Divine Power drifting through the air, his expression one of pure admiration.

“As expected of an Askanian, even Divine Power manifests so splendidly. To think our family would have a mage who wields it… Father will be overjoyed when he hears. I have so many questions, but… I’ll wait until you decide to tell me.”

I responded with a smile.

Adrian, with an expression of gratitude, smiled as well.

I mirrored it.

And now, let’s see the reality behind that smile.

Dawn 777

Final Outcome: ‘Chapter X: Death’ in 647 days, 8 hours, 58 minutes, 00 seconds

Probability of Change: 0.3% (-30%p)

…-30%p.

This was the first time I had seen the Probability of Change decrease.

That meant—I was simply going to die.

Rather than meticulously crafting the perfect murder, he had judged that killing me right now would be the most advantageous option.

Using a Retry would reset everything, but seeing that number still sent a chill down my spine.

So the conclusion is…

He had anticipated my Magic Power.

But he hadn’t anticipated Divine Power.

Of course.

There had never been any signs of it when I was a child.

And even better—

He still didn’t know that I was Nicolaus.

Now I know exactly how to move.

By deviating from the novel’s storyline, I had changed Adrian’s approach.

Right now, he must have realized that acting recklessly would make the situation spiral out of control—unlike in the original novel.

That was the only way to explain his altered course of action.

Adrian Askanian’s perfectionism dictated that he wouldn’t act until he could ensure his perfect victory and my complete defeat.

Since he had postponed my death, it meant he would now search for the most optimal way to eliminate me.

His plan would only become more refined, more intricate from here on.

If he became even more determined, things could take an unpredictable turn.

However—

If I had time, it also meant…

I had the time to perfect Nicolaus and ensure my complete victory over him.

Then I had no reason to hesitate.

A genuine smile spread across my face.

I summoned the Retry window and spoke.

“Rewind.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep