Epilogue: Queen of Maryland Maker (2)
Riana, Pletta Selwyn, and even Hanna.
The three of them headed straight to the Central Magic Library the moment Pavel left the mansion.
"Eugene!! Get out here!!!"
Still dressed in her pristine white gown, Riana drew the eyes of every mage in the library for a brief moment.
From the direction of the Cube room, the man in question appeared with measured steps.
"Long time no see, Riana."
"Wh-what the hell!! What did you do?! What did you do to my dad……!"
Eugene just shrugged leisurely in response to Riana's outburst.
"Looks like the marriage proposal's been called off? Turns out the duke isn't as stuck-up as I thought."
His utterly nonchalant reaction—not even answering her question—only amplified her suspicions.
And that irritatingly smug smile.
No matter how she thought about it, she only got bad vibes.
"What the hell did you do!??!?!"
"I just gave him a Gaming Cube as a gift. A custom-made one."
"Ah…… no way."
She didn't have the best relationship with her father, but no one understood him better than Riana.
Pavel Ishinkiore wasn't someone who'd never tasted failure.
On the contrary, he'd faced countless crises, sometimes even staking his life to get where he was.
The golden tower he'd built was the fruit of his long struggles.
That's why he'd ruthlessly shoved his kids off a cliff.
To teach them that the world wasn't kind, even if you were born into a powerful duke's family. Of course, the method was pretty extreme, and the fact that he just pushed them off and did nothing after was the real issue. Still, he wasn't some irrational hothead.
But if the marriage proposal had suddenly been scrapped…… that meant her father had experienced something and come to a realization.
Gaming Cube. Eugene Paltrow. The third prince. Queen of Maryland Maker.
A series of possibilities crept into her mind, and Riana desperately denied them.
"N-no waaay~~ You didn't seriously implant me into Queen of Maryland Maker, did you? You're joking, right, Eugene?"
"……."
"……You're just joking, right?"
"…………."
"You crazy bastard!!!!!"
Riana's face flushed beet red as she charged at Eugene.
She was one of the creators of Queen of Maryland Maker, after all.
She'd even been involved in facial implantation for the default character 'Canola.'
They'd selected the five most beautiful people in the empire, and as the golden daughter, she couldn't be left out.
Thus, Riana's body data—from infancy to her current young adulthood—was stored in the internal dev files.
A slight tweak to the character file, and poof—a character modeled after her real self could appear, replacing the existing model.
"And there's that Feng Yu Huan elixir or whatever, and those leather outfits that bare your chest, and those scraps of cloth you can barely call clothes!!!"
She'd giggled with Eugene while designing all those skimpy outfits, but seeing them on a character modeled after herself was a whole different story.
Just imagining it filled her with shame so intense she wanted to hang herself.
'But…… if that's what broke off the marriage talk…… I should be grateful…….'
Right as Riana wavered between reason and emotion.
Eugene dropped a bombshell.
"Why? It wasn't bad."
"……What?"
"I checked if the character model would glitch out. Can't have the graphics breaking from bad outfits."
"You even put her in the Enchanting Crimson Amoled Dress……?"
"That one's got killer stats. She might wear it once, right? Besides, with office wear like those thigh-and-hip-baring Eastern-style dresses already in the game, what's the difference?"
"Eugene Paltrow, you shouldn't exist."
"!!!!!!!"
Eugene dodged the seriously charging Riana and fled into the Cube room.
"Don't you run!!!???"
"Wait! Hold on!! Ack! Hey! That hit bone!!! What class are you?! I'm Philomon Academy class of '54!!"
"Shut up, senpai! I'm sewing that mouth shut today!"
"The marriage talk's off!! I changed your lone-wolf dad's mind!! I fixed your father-daughter relationship!! I did everything!!!!"
"Th-that's appreciated! But no!! Take five more hits first!!!"
As always, the violence escalated until Claude's mediation and a barrage of noise complaints from the mages put an end to it.
The usual Central Magic Library. Just another day for the game dev club.
While Riana and Eugene played tag in the Central Magic Library.
Pavel Ishinkiore was in the Romanium imperial palace.
Riana's marriage proposal had gone all the way up to the emperor.
With it called off, he had to report it without delay.
"Handle it yourself. I have no interest in such trifles."
"I shall ensure it brings no disgrace to Your Majesty or the empire."
Fortunately, the Iron Blood Emperor had zero interest in such minor matters.
He was currently steeped in overall boredom.
Unless it involved expeditions or hunts—his personal interests—he cared for nothing.
Not even state affairs.
Thus, the empire's operations were currently shouldered by the chancellor and the imperial princes.
It was only natural the emperor wouldn't care about a duke's marriage proposal.
Instead, what had captured his keen interest lately was something else.
"Speaking of which."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Speak."
"Have you reviewed the proposal from Chancellor Carolus and Commander Cassian?"
The practical deployment of the Mana Rifle.
"Ah! Yes, Your Majesty. I think it's an excellent plan. It doesn't seem to differ much from the mana crossbow yet…… but its compactness—bullets fitting in a single pocket—will be a huge boon for field soldiers."
The common enemy of all continental nations, including the empire, was the northern demonkin.
Those cursed beings that stirred every 300 years or so, sweeping the continent.
They were beginning to awaken gradually.
Thus, nations coordinated periodic expeditions to exterminate the northern demonkin.
Like cockroaches, they multiplied if even one was left alive.
This winter, it was the empire's turn.
Naturally, the emperor's attention was fixed on the northern expedition.
The Mana Rifle—patented by Eugene Paltrow, proven effective by Cassian Valerius and various mages, and now in trial production at the imperial armory—was a key agenda item for its first combat deployment in this expedition.
"I see it as not much different from the mana crossbow either, but its destructive power is formidable. At around 200 meters, the accuracy far surpasses the crossbow."
"Then a trial deployment to one battalion seems wise, Your Majesty."
"Commander Cassian mentioned a plan to train with the new weapon effectively. Discuss it with him."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Pavel bowed politely to the emperor and headed straight to the camp of Cassian Valerius's 2nd Magic Infantry Division, adjacent to the palace.
"The commander is currently in his private office."
Following the adjutant's guidance to the office, Pavel was stunned by the unprecedented sight.
"What…… is this……??"
He'd visited Cassian's office many times before.
Their ages were similar, and during the Great War and the princes' rebellion, they'd been on the same side.
Plus, as the Golden Duke with the most wealth among the three dukes, he was involved in military funding and logistics.
His last visit was a year ago.
Back then, the office of a 7-circle mage had been strikingly barren.
Mages usually customized their spaces to their tastes, so the stark minimalism—only essential furniture—had left an impression.
But now…….
"Why are there three portraits?"
Stepping inside, large paintings on the left wall caught his eye immediately.
One face Pavel recognized.
His late daughter, Claudia.
Wasn't Cassian the man who'd writhed in pain at her sight, forbidding even mention of her?
Had he overcome his trauma upon reaching 8-circle?
The problem was the two portraits beside it.
Both girls with light gray hair.
One looked about 16, the other around 7. As Pavel stood baffled, Cassian smiled softly.
"My beloved daughters."
Pavel was genuinely shocked.
Cassian Valerius…… smiling……?
Once he registered that, the rest of the room came into focus.
Across from the entrance, a trial-production Mana Rifle hung in an ornate display case.
On the desk sat a palm-sized statue of a girl from a portrait.
The picture of a doting dad. The entire office papered with his daughters' photos and items—what overzealous fathers did.
Had he remarried and had kids without him knowing?
Even so, daughters that age in just one year was odd.
"Well, you wouldn't understand. When you have time, definitely try the Cube. You'll gain profound insights."
Cube. A word he'd have brushed off before, but now—having been gripped by that Cube and even scrapping his daughter's marriage—he was hooked.
Irked by the 'keep quiet if you don't know' attitude, Pavel shot back.
"I've already experienced it."
"Hm?"
"Quite the wondrous item. I see why you mages rave about it."
"Hmm, true. For an event like this, it'd be odd if you hadn't tried it. But how could you not know my daughters? Mary and Lucy."
"Because I met my own daughter."
"????"
"???????"
The two men exchanged bewildered looks for a moment.
"Seems we have much to share."
"……With time to spare, indeed." They began swapping their brief yet incredibly long stories.
"Intriguing. I thought it was just peeking into dimensions, but if it's actually connected…… then Riana, who spent time with you, might……."
"If it's a Gaming Cube made just for me, could it implant Mary and Lucy's memories or appearances too? Meet them again, beyond dimensions?"
Pavel finally left Cassian's office late into the night.
"Ah."
He hadn't exchanged a single word about the emperor's directive on 'new weapon deployment.'