Chapter 40

"Suicide Frenzy."

"Suicide... you mean?"

"Yeah. They say the guy sent a letter to the professor instead of attending class. It said, 'I am on the top floor of this castle and am about to fall. It's all your fault.'"

Volkwein let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.

"He's completely mad."

"Even you think so, right? But my friend didn't stop at just that level of madness. After all, follow-up actions are always more important. Right after he drew everyone's attention, they say he always brought his fierce dog with him, wherever and whenever. The dog was so aggressive that its leash was always taut. Thanks to this, she could receive her father's protection, 'Leave her alone before she goes even more mad,' and became free from her siblings."

"…That story. It feels like I've heard it somewhere before. Could it be?"

"You're right. It's a story about Princess Natasha."

You know it too, huh? After all, there aren't many royals who've had such tumultuous lives as Natasha.

The once innocent and naive Princess Natasha became a completely different person after that incident.

She devoted herself to studying magic to gain power and joined the Mage Alliance, firmly establishing her reputation as a combat mage and her standing as a commander.

And finally, she managed to push her brothers aside and secure the position of Crown Princess. Unfortunately, she didn't reach the throne.

Volkwein burst into a hollow laugh.

"In short, you're telling me to go mad."

"But Volkwein, people around you won't change unless you do something that mad. The same goes for that guy. If he hadn't caused such a fuss, risking his dignity, he would have been drained and discarded by his siblings by now."

"Go mad to make a change…"

Volkwein rubbed his forehead, his face showing deep thought.

"Haha. I definitely wasn't mad. At least, not until now. …Thanks for the advice, Jager."

"Jager?"

I asked with a smile.

"Do I look like Jager?"

"Huh? Of course. You're Jager."

The 'Exit' is an entity that mediates and restores the target's mental confusion.

Therefore, it often appears in the form of an entity that gives the target a sense of security.

It seems that Volkwein's 'Exit' to overcome his trauma is Jager. Jager's presence as a friend must have had a significant impact on him.

"Blind fool. No matter how you look at it, my beauty is the winner."

Volkwein's form gradually became blurry, indicating he had escaped the trap.

I walked past the now starlight-like Volkwein and continued into the darkness.

'Everything's fine, but where is my exit?'

Usually, when one is aware of a trap, the exit to escape the trap follows closely.

In my case, a younger version of myself always followed me whenever I was trapped. A small, innocent child version of myself.

'But why can't I see it now?'

That's when I saw it.

A man with shimmering blond hair was running towards me from a distance.

I wondered who it was, but it was Jager.

'What? Could he have voluntarily dispelled the hallucination?'

That would be problematic.

My goal is Jager's information. I need him to suffer from hallucinations to extract the information I want...

"Father! The professor is visiting our house today, right?"

I stared at Jager, who had stopped beside me. His cheeks were flushed, and he looked up at the middle-aged man in front of him with an excited expression.

'It's not that he dispelled the hallucination.'

He was running towards the hallucination.

The man, who was both Jager's hallucination and his biological father, nodded gruffly.

[Yes.]

"Did you accept my request? Then what about the schedule? Since the professor will be my private tutor, shouldn't we adjust the schedule?"

[No, that professor won't accompany you abroad. He'll stay here to help your brother's classes.]

Jager's face darkened rapidly.

"…Did my brother say he wanted to take the professor's classes?"

[No, but based on his credentials, I decided he would be more helpful for your brother's classes.]

"But the professor was the one I invited, wasn't he?"

[You're talking nonsense. Your brother is the eldest son who will inherit the family business. No matter who invited him, you, the younger brother, should step aside.]

"Father. I've read all of his papers. There's a field of study in the Northern Continent Alliance that I want to research, and the professor is the perfect fit..."

[Enough! Don't argue. Are you trying to take away the professor I've assigned to your brother? Did I teach you to be so selfish?]

Jager's trauma seems to be that he, the second son, is overshadowed by his elder brother.

Jager's expression, which was not just disappointed but completely devastated, was truly pitiful.

I decided to hit his father first.

"Sorry."

Jager, startled, looked at me with wide eyes.

"Hey, Jager. Are you angry that your brother keeps taking the good things from you?"

"…Why are you asking that? Honestly, I am."

"Want to learn how not to let him take them?"

"I'll listen."

"Start a suicide frenzy."

Jager replied with a serious expression.

"What are you talking about? Are you joking? It's not funny at all. Don't talk about such things. I have minor conflicts with my father, but I truly love my family. I have no intention of doing something as crazy as a suicide attempt."

"No, I'm not telling you to actually do it, just to cause a commotion."

"What if my father is shocked and collapses? I don't even want to imagine such a terrible situation. Don't ever mention it again, friend."

Hmm, this method won't work.

'Jager still genuinely loves his family despite being treated this way.'

If I had interpreted the family structure too simplistically, I would have made such a mistake.

Thanks to this, the crack I created quickly healed.

If this continues, I might be caught in a more powerful hallucination as a side effect. I needed to create a bigger crack.

'What can shake Jager?'

What Jager values.

What comes to mind when I think of Jager.

Information.

'This guy is quite adept at handling information.'

Even considering he is the son of a newspaper magnate, he is very flexible.

Information is a useful tool in social life. Jager might have used information to escape his father's authoritarianism and his brother's shadow.

'If so, Jager's trauma can be broken using information.'

Breaking trauma is simple.

Trauma is, simply put, a deep-seated scar and trauma that is difficult to shake off.

If you can think of a strong and positive factor that can make the target forget this scar, the trauma will be broken.

Therefore, the better you know the target, the easier it is to break their trauma.

Conversely, if you are ignorant of the target, you can never break it.

'If Jager's trauma is the attention and opportunities taken by his brother...'

Information is an 'opportunity' that Jager can actively wield and use to get what he wants first.

Let's see, let's see. Information to distract Jager from his trauma.

"Jager, did you know?"

"…."

"Viscount Weatherwood won the duel against Verberley Grayton."

"…."

"As a reward, he made Verberley Grayton his slave. He plans to lock him in the basement of his mansion and make him do laundry for the rest of his life."

I didn't say it was true.

Jager's gloomy expression brightened instantly.

"What? Is that true?"

He shook my shoulder with a sharp look in his eyes. Indeed, I was right. He's an easy target.

"Where did you hear that, Volkwein? Gray, that guy. He seemed suspicious from the start! He can lie without batting an eye?"

Volkwein.

Your exit was Volkwein, Jager.

'One is the eldest son, which is his trauma, and the other is not the eldest son, which is his trauma.'

Two people walking opposite paths, providing each other with comfort. Indeed, the human psyche is profound.

'But profound is profound.'

I'm sorry, Jager, but I need to get something in return for helping you.

"Who are the dangerous people looking for Dian Ket's relics?"

Hallucination is the best mental magic for uncovering someone's secrets.

A person under hallucination is most vulnerable in front of their 'exit' who helps them break their trauma.

Therefore, they reveal their secrets without any hesitation. Just like now.

"Verberley Grayton, Duke."

That's the expected opponent.

"And?"

Jager answered with a slightly dazed look.

"From the Northern Continent Alliance... Logue."

Logue? It sounds familiar.

"Who is Logue?"

"You... don't know Logue? That's impossible. You're calling Volkwein, who doesn't know Logue, a complete fool?"

I'm sorry, I'm a complete fool who doesn't know Logue.

'You're a sharp one. To still be suspicious even while recognizing me as your exit.'

But thanks to this, I gained one certainty.

'Even if I don't know what Logue is, it must be related to Lu.'

Lu stole Morian's identity, which is from the Northern Continent Alliance. With Logue mentioned, I can dig into both of them.

"Thanks, friend."

I patted his shoulder and turned to leave. Then Jager's voice stopped me.

"There's one more."

As I turned my head, a faint starlight left a short sentence and disappeared.

"Jenail, Duke."

…If it's the Jenail family, it's definitely.

'Raphael Jenail Pen Rota'

Raphael is looking for Dian Ket's relics.

'This is not a welcome piece of information.'

It means I might clash with him someday.

I continued walking into the darkness.

[Stop! Where are you going? Save me, Andert...]

[Andert! You traitor trying to survive alone! You will soon meet the same terrible death as us!]

But I had no time to look around. More precisely, from the moment I heard Raphael's name, my mind was filled with it.

'If he needs Dian Ket's relics, it means he has an incurable disease that can't be easily treated.'

Could he also be on a death sentence like me? Unanswered questions piled up at some point.

Someone grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"I've been looking for you."

A young voice followed.

I turned my head. Or rather, I lowered my head. A thin girl with a strangely familiar yet unfamiliar face looked up at me.

Long brown hair that reached her back. Slightly drooping eyes. Green eyes. Small body. Pale face.

The girl was none other than my younger self.