Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 12: Approaching Destiny
While Iden was rebuilding the outer castle defense line of the western border city, in the eastern snow city of Snom, the Alchemy Competition was being held grandly.
The city, which had been noisy with the festive atmosphere, held its breath for this moment, waiting for all participants to display their capabilities without regret.
"Phew..."
Vivienne stood at the edge of the venue and took a deep breath.
Inside the bag she held, ingredients she had combined herself were organized.
Powders were sealed to prevent moisture absorption, and catalysts were tied with colored threads in order of use.
Preparation was sufficient.
What remained was trusting her hands.
"We will begin the first test."
With the solemn proclamation of the announcer, a quiet busyness unfolded in the venue.
The first task was instant transmutation.
A test to change a given raw stone into a specific property within a time limit.
Vivienne spread the powder without hesitation.
As she dropped a single drop of catalyst, subtle heat brushed her fingertips.
The reaction was fast and stable.
She chose balance instead of excessive output. The transmutation was close to perfection.
The second task was continuous combination.
A section where the failure probability rose sharply.
Vivienne didn't change the order.
First, removing unstable elements, she tied the remaining variables and processed them at once.
Small explosions burst from the surroundings, but her workbench was quiet.
The result was clear, and the color was consistent.
The last was an application task.
It was a problem without a set answer, and Vivienne chose barrier alchemy after contemplating for a moment.
She prioritized durability over hardness.
A thin but long-lasting membrane.
As the alchemy formula was completed, the membrane shook but did not collapse.
"Whew..."
Vivienne, who completed up to the last task, wiped the sweat wetting her forehead.
The test was smooth and stable.
Nevertheless, the rising anxiety and worry were telling her how important the [Northern Alchemy Competition] was to her.
Especially since the ruler of the North was sitting on the high platform.
Grand Duke Eldmonde's gaze, scanning the entire venue as if commanding a battlefield, naturally made anxiety and worry arise.
'It's okay. There were no mistakes. You did well. Vivienne.'
While grading was in progress, Vivienne looked down at her hands.
She fiddled with her trembling fingertips for no reason.
In this competition, she wanted to prove.
That it was right to step into this harsh land despite her father's dissuasion, and prove the fruit of her blood-sweating effort polished for 6 months in the kingdom's most prestigious Alchemy Competition.
And she wanted to acknowledge coolly that her choice was right.
"Huu..."
Vivienne caught her breath again.
The grading was heading towards the end before she knew it.
However, glancing up, her eyes met with Grand Duke Eldmonde on the platform.
"!"
Startled, Vivienne lowered her head blushing.
It wasn't met by coincidence.
Grand Duke Eldmonde was looking solely at her, and that gaze seemed to be weighing her between two emotions: interest and doubt.
Was it because of that?
Just meeting eyes felt like being struck by lightning.
Thump, thump.
Another heartbeat resonated through her whole body.
Soon.
"Then we will announce the scores."
The end of the competition was beginning.
Even before the final result was announced, Vivienne was guessing.
The judges' gazes were consistent, and there was no hesitation in the hands turning the scorecards.
Even while other participants' scores were called in order, her name was left until the end.
That short gap felt rather like certainty.
"Finally... Vivienne Elindis, final score 97 points. The final winner of this Northern Alchemy Competition is Vivienne Elindis—!"
Instantly, the venue became noisy as if bursting.
Applause and cheers rose simultaneously, and her name was called here and there.
Vivienne inhaled for a moment.
Her heart was beating fast, but inside her head was strangely clear.
She raised her head to look at the podium, then moved her steps slowly.
Her steps were calm, and her hands didn't tremble.
Today's result wasn't luck.
Only that fact was clear.
It was a fruit borne of effort, and now, she would be able to praise her choice and decision unsparingly.
Vivienne, slightly lifting her skirt hem by pinching it, climbed the stairs of the platform carefully.
Vivienne, trying to hide delight and joy, but unable to hide what hung on the corners of her mouth.
The Northern Alchemy Competition held prestige counted even within the kingdom.
So the meaning was greater.
The winner here is given the glory of being recommended as an honorary member of the Alchemy Society or transferring to the 'Royal Academy', the kingdom's highest educational institution.
Vivienne went up to the platform and stood in front of Grand Duke Eldmonde of the North.
It was difficult to meet his gaze, but Vivienne didn't avoid it just for now.
The appearance of old vigor was still there.
Even amidst silver-mixed hair and deeply carved wrinkles, the gaze didn't cloud.
He stood in front of Vivienne and examined her for a moment.
It was a gaze that seemed to evaluate, yet didn't hide interest.
The golden trophy held in Eldmonde's hand was passed to Vivienne.
The crystal engraved with the Northern crest sparkled receiving light.
Then the prize was delivered.
It was a reward lacking neither in amount nor honor.
The venue became noisy, and applause as if peeling off the roof spread loudly.
Those chanting Vivienne's name, participants expressing envy, judges clapping with pleased smiles.
With this, the grand finale is decorated.
However, Eldmonde, who finished the awarding, didn't retreat from that spot.
"Vivienne Elindis."
He spoke looking down at the venue.
In an instant, the venue became silent.
"Your alchemy was impressive not only in result but also in process."
Everyone held their breath waiting for his next words.
"I have had great interest in alchemy for a long time."
Eldmonde proving himself that the Northern Alchemy Competition is the kingdom's most prestigious competition.
Since the ruler of the North has immense interest and spares no support, the competition's authority naturally had to rise.
"And today, I confirmed a talent the North must invest in."
A moment of silence.
"The Wintel family promises you full support."
At that moment, the venue buzzed greatly.
Murmuring spread like waves.
It wasn't simple sponsorship.
Everyone present knew the weight of those words.
"I will allow you to use all alchemy-related facilities possessed by the Wintel family freely."
Eldmonde's voice was firm.
"There are no limits to laboratories, experiment grounds, even data archives."
Vivienne's breath stopped for a moment.
It was a proposal beyond imagination.
It was an invitation wrapped in the word support, and practically a declaration to come into the heart of the North as an alchemist.
Before joy, pressure was felt.
She instinctively understood how far this choice would change her life.
Therefore, Vivienne raised her head.
She didn't run away.
It was a proposal she had no choice but to accept willingly.
Because it was no exaggeration to say the Wintel family's alchemy equipment, tools, ingredients, and facilities were the best not only in the kingdom but across the continent.
"It is an honor. Your Highness Grand Duke."
It was a short but clear voice.
At that moment, cheers burst again.
Applause was fiercer than before, and whistling sounds resonated as if tearing eardrums.
Effort bears fruit and beyond, lighting the fire of blessing.
Vivienne Elindis.
Like that, at the age of 18, she becomes an alchemy prospect picked by the Grand Duke of the North and heads to the Wintel Grand Duke family.
Even a month after the Alchemy Competition ended, the outer castle was still busy.
Iden was scanning the buffer zone outside the castle with the Engineering Unit members.
Repairs were already finished.
Now was the stage of designing how to ruin the coming attack.
What they touched first was the approach route.
The road leading straight to the castle was deliberately dug to curve.
They made the road surface uneven so carriages couldn't speed up, and spread a thin layer of gravel where wheels easily get stuck.
Underneath, they buried wooden stakes upside down.
Not deep, but a structure sufficient to break a horse's hoof or a soldier's ankle.
"Put a cover here and sprinkle soil once more."
Following Iden's instruction, engineers added camouflage.
Near the castle walls, they made shallow depression zones.
It looks solid, but a structure that slowly collapses when weight is applied.
One doesn't fall and die.
However, the one who falls falls into confusion, and the following formation has no choice but to stop.
It was a device aiming for that gap.
Everywhere, iron spikes called caltrops were prepared.
Trivial tools, but fatal to thin leather shoes or horseshoes.
They scattered them in bushes and mud inconspicuously.
Near the moat, they set up wooden stakes and hid them underwater.
After deliberately adjusting the water level to make the water look shallow, it was a device made to pierce legs the moment one tries to cross.
Medieval defense wasn't flashy.
Instead, it was persistent.
Iden went back and forth the site checking one by one. If the depth is appropriate, if the camouflage is natural. He checked by stepping on it directly and poking with a stick.
At first, he was also ignorant, but going in and out of the library, he read and learned all books related to siege warfare, and for what was lacking, he invited experts and learned with money.
Thanks to that, he was now to the extent where he could design the desired board directly, and preparation for the Northern War remaining only a few months away was proceeding swiftly.
It was then.
"Come to think of it, about this Alchemy Competition."
One engineer brought up the topic while packing soil.
"Did you hear? That Grand Duke Eldmonde took the winner directly?"
"Really?"
Another raised his head.
"If it's that level, it's not just sponsorship level."
"Right. They said the Wintel family would fully support her, seems this winner is somewhat different?"
Iden continued working silently.
Ears were open, but hands didn't stop.
"That... what was the name."
After a moment of silence, someone spoke.
"Think it was... Vivienne."
Vivienne.
That name brushed Iden's ear.
For a very short moment, he felt like something caught, but that was it.
He soon lifted the shovel to level the soil, and readjusted the angle of the stake.
The name flowed away naturally in his head.
Now his gaze was looking only forward.
Castle walls and ground, and the coming Northern War.
There was no reason to hold onto a name being forgotten anymore.
Because he was placed in the middle of a war story, not a Romance Fantasy now.
Whoosh—
A gust of wind blowing fiercely once makes Iden's hair flutter.
It was one autumn day when the energy of war was slowly approaching.