Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Second Suitable One
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That incident from Lady Elysia's school days when she tried to sneak out an exam paper.
If word of that got out publicly, it wouldn't end with just a minor nuisance.
Cheating at the Imperial Academy isn't treated as a mere student infraction.
It directly ties to the family's honor.
"The Valenhardt Duchy's sole lady attempted to rig an exam!" One line like that, and high society would buzz for days.
Marriage proposals would dry up, friendly houses would distance themselves, and hostile nobles would pounce with lines like, "See? The hero's lineage has finally turned to dust!"
That's probably the calculation behind Grand Duchess Luise pulling out that paper.
But.
The problem was that her calculation was a bit too late.
'If she wanted to threaten me with that incident, she should've come sooner.'
The current Lady Elysia.
She had nearly single-handedly raided a dragon's lair, liberated the Holy Sword Balmung, and taken in the black dragon's power.
In other words, she was no longer just a lady bandied about in marriage talks. She was a force whose name would be called first if war broke out.
And I was no longer merely her cherished slave butler.
Sudden awakening of an ability.
Mythic Blacksmith.
A being who could comprehend weapons of the gods, beyond human limits, and recreate them if needed.
Even Aurelion, the white ancient dragon of the upper gods, couldn't casually appraise my worth.
For us to be challenged with nothing more than a single cheating paper from her school days?
Of course, if it got exposed, high society would be noisy for a while, just as expected.
Our reputation might take a temporary hit.
But soon, high society or whatever would be irrelevant—war among the gods was about to erupt.
In a situation where the entire mortal realm would shake, regardless of commoner, outcast, or noble, that academy cheating scandal wouldn't even qualify as a sideshow.
In short, it was a card that only worked against the "ordinary human" version of Lady Elysia.
'From that perspective alone, there's no reason to play along.'
Lady Elysia had been startled at first, but when I quietly signaled her to calm down with a hand gesture, the black dragon's aura gradually subsided—perhaps thanks to that.
The wild flickering heat faded, and her usual sharp-minded lady persona returned.
Her eyes had changed.
She seemed to have realized it then.
Her judgment made, she curled the corner of her mouth and let out a scoff.
A face that said she'd completely turned the tables.
Seeing that, a faint trace of amusement drained from Grand Duchess Luise's eyes.
Normally, that would've been the end of it.
Parry appropriately, bury the black mark as a black mark, and send her on her way—that was probably Lady Elysia's plan.
But unfortunately, I had noticed something else.
"My lady."
I spoke first.
"Then, I'll accompany Grand Duchess Luise for a while."
"Wh-what?! Why all of a sudden?!"
"...! Hehe. A wise choice, Jinwoo."
A subtle satisfaction spread across Grand Duchess Luise's lips.
"As expected of the man I picked out. Unlike some, you know how to read the room."
An intentional jab.
Lady Elysia's eyebrow twitched.
I ignored the reaction and bowed my head.
"My apologies for interrupting, Grand Duchess."
Her gaze turned down to me.
"I am, above all, Lady Elysia's butler. Before following you, I believe it's proper to consult with her briefly."
A short silence.
Grand Duchess Luise's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
This wasn't rudeness or refusal.
It was procedure, observed with perfect etiquette.
"...Very well."
A moment later, she waved her hand lightly.
"I permit it. You might not see each other for a while, so talk as much as you like."
The words carried a hidden implication, but on the surface, it was impeccable noble courtesy.
I bowed deeply once more.
"Thank you, Grand Duchess."
And then I gently took Lady Elysia's wrist and led her behind a pillar, away from prying ears.
A distance where the Grand Duchess couldn't hear.
Only then did I speak lowly.
"Lady Elysia. I'm sorry, but I'll be staying with Grand Duchess Luise for the time being."
"So why exactly?! Don't tell me... you're doing this over that stupid exam paper?"
"Of course not. I know full well that scrap of paper is no longer your weakness. However..."
The reason I was choosing to leave the comfortable Lady Elysia for the uncomfortable Grand Duchess Luise's side.
"Just now, didn't Grand Duchess Luise grab my left arm?"
"She did."
I clenched and unclenched my wrist lightly.
"In that moment... I felt a 'strange sensation'."
"A sensation?"
"Yes."
I chose my words carefully.
"It was similar to when I touch metal after awakening my new power. Even before heating it, when I pick up the hammer, I sometimes see the form it will take first."
Lady Elysia's eyes narrowed.
"I sensed a similar 'structure' inside Grand Duchess Luise's body."
"Structure? Explain it simply."
"Of course. Simply put, it was like glimpsing the flow of her power. A framework that's there, but with an empty core—her inner self."
I added honestly.
"It means I might be able to 'forge a weapon' for her."
"Wh-what did you say?!"
Upon awakening as a Mythic Blacksmith, beyond the status window's explanation, I'd learned a few facts through direct trial and error.
First condition.
-Cannot forge weapons without a user.
It was right after completing the Holy Sword Balmung.
I wondered if I could make an even stronger weapon.
Wanting to help Lady Elysia more, I stood before the anvil again.
But at that moment, my mind went blank white.
The blueprint was there.
Materials, balance, mana flow—all fully understood.
Yet at the final step, my hand froze.
Like a blueprint vanishing into fog just before completion.
That's when I realized.
I didn't forge 'weapons'. I forged 'weapons for someone'.
Without a designated wielder, the core structure wouldn't form.
Second condition.
-Mythic Blacksmith prowess remains intact for non-weapon items.
Just because weapons were blocked didn't seal all crafting.
As a test, I made a ring.
The result was clear.
A legendary relic that wouldn't reach mythic heights but would etch its name in history.
That level was no problem.
The contract ring I'd given Aurelion before, Eiðhringr, was an example.
Third condition.
-Only one of each myth.
This I learned by chance while trying to remake Balmung.
The form and structure were already from something I'd made once.
And as a blacksmith, recreating an exact copy of something I'd already forged was as easy as lying down for rice cakes.
But the moment I raised the hammer, my hand stopped again.
No, this time it was an even stranger sensation.
As if an invisible force was blocking the space between hammer and anvil.
'It already exists.'
That single phrase floated in my mind.
Myths cannot be duplicated.
Weapons with the same form, meaning, and legend could exist only once in the world.
No more were permitted.
And finally.
Fourth condition.
-Cannot tell a suitable wielder from afar.
This was something I'd just learned today.
Think of it like taking a pulse, not inspecting materials.
The 'suitable user' for my weapons could only be discerned through direct contact—annoyingly enough.
The grain of mana flowing beneath the skin, the gap in power clashing with the heartbeat,
The empty structure formed within the body.
Only by feeling that could a vague blueprint suited to that person emerge in my mind.
Moments ago.
When Grand Duchess Luise grabbed my left arm, a single structure flashed instantly.
An incomplete frame, an empty center, a form yet to take a name.
It meant my hammer might respond to her.
'But what can I say... I can feel the sense that I 'can forge something', but I don't know 'what' to forge yet.'
Maybe because we're not close enough.
Or because I don't know Grand Duchess Luise well.
Either way, it was worth investigating.
The war between otherworldly gods that might erupt someday.
Securing new forces in that scenario wasn't optional—it was essential.
With great difficulty, I obtained Lady Elysia's permission.
The immediate pretext was simple.
Erase her black history.
In exchange, I pretended to be dragged away unwillingly.
Of course, without revealing my awakened ability or talk of war.
Since we still didn't know if Grand Duchess Luise would be ally or foe.
Better to keep premature cards hidden.
And so, quietly, as if it were nothing, I followed Grand Duchess Luise toward her estate.
But.
Rumble rumble.
It was on the mountain path.
The road connecting the Valenhardt Duchy and the Empire was gentle but far from flat.
It wound, sloped, and every time the wheels hit a small stone, the carriage shook faintly.
On a normal carriage, motion sickness would've been no surprise.
But this one was different.
Thick wheels, precisely meshed axles, interior designed to minimize shocks.
The Grand Duchess's personal carriage.
Built to elegantly conquer terrain like this.
The problem was... that I was riding inside with her.
I looked at the Grand Duchess sitting across from me.
"Um... Grand Duchess Luise. Why on earth am I, of all people, sharing this carriage alone with you?"
She leisurely turned her gaze from the window.
Her black hair swayed lightly with the motion.
Her words followed.
"Because Jinwoo is my guest. Isn't it only proper to treat a guest with full courtesy?"
She was brazen.
As if there were no issue at all.
But there were plenty of issues.
First off, I was a slave.
Legally and by status, a mere male slave sitting alone in an enclosed space with a grand duchess.
By medieval standards, this was a highly irregular scene.
Which made it all the more uncomfortable.
The carriage rolled smoothly in silence, but inside, I felt like I was shaking wildly.
For a moment, I missed Lady Elysia's embrace.