Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Heaven-Piercing Device
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was right after tea time with Grand Duchess Luise.
They had called it a key family project, so I had some idea of what to expect, but the moment we arrived on site, the workers and knights bowed their heads in unison.
"Butler."
For a mere slave like me, the title they used was overly polite.
Just standing there alongside someone bearing the Libelshtein name was enough to change people's attitudes.
Gold has a way of bending even the angle of a person's waist.
A strange feeling stirred in my chest.
Since I'd been summoned anyway.
It also gave me a pretext to cover up Lady Elysia's dark history.
Above all, if this was the heart of Libelshtein territory, it was a chance to test just how far my abilities could reach.
I slowly unrolled the blueprints.
And at that moment.
─Click.
[Design Target: Heaven-Piercing Device ()]
[Mythic Blacksmith's Authority Activates.]
[Structure · Stress · Load · Defect Potential Analysis Complete.]
The blueprints changed.
No, more precisely, my eyes changed.
The lines before me no longer represented mere architectural plans.
The pillars weren't there to support the roof. The reinforcements weren't for erecting walls.
Their arrangement was structured to gather force.
Not like siege weapons meant to topple castles.
Quite the opposite.
A form designed so all loads, pressures, and stresses converged on a single point.
As if turning the entire earth into a bowstring—I grasped it in an instant.
This wasn't a simple structure.
Absurd as it sounded, this was a projectile.
Not a building, but a massive loading mechanism.
And its target wasn't the walls on the ground or any fortress.
It was the skies above.
An angle calculated to pierce the clouds, break through the atmosphere, and reach beyond.
Knowledge from my past life whispered to me.
Even in the modern world, a project of this scale and stress calculation would require continent-spanning industry and resources.
But this was the 'medieval era'.
An age sustained by waterwheels, mules, steel, and stone.
This design transcended the technological limits of this world.
That left only one possible answer.
"This is..."
I looked back at the title on the blueprints.
Heaven-Piercing Device.
Heaven-Piercing.
In this world, 'the heavens' weren't just the atmosphere.
Beyond lay the realm of the gods.
Which meant this weapon's purpose could only be one thing.
Not aimed at lowly mortals of the lower realms, but a divine spear launched toward the gods of the heavens.
A challenge from the mortal world hurled at the divine realm.
'No wonder other engineers couldn't make sense of it...'
The angles of the pillars, arches, and supports were something even medieval engineers could read.
Load calculations and stress distribution—a skilled craftsman could follow that far.
But this core.
The drive section that gathered and compressed force into a single point.
The power core arranged like a heartbeat.
This wasn't designed based on this world's technological framework.
'Even modern tech might struggle to build something like this...'
But regardless, Grand Duchess Luise bringing me here had been the right call in the end.
These blueprints seemed incomprehensible without someone like me—possessing both the Mythic Blacksmith's authority and modern knowledge from my past life.
And to my eyes, this wasn't a building—it was a weapon.
That must have awakened the blacksmith's instinct in me.
The urge that I could build this thing.
The only issue was why build it at all.
Libelshtein wasn't a declining house. Far from obsolete.
Still the empire's number two.
A golden family even Valenhardt couldn't touch lightly—why punch a 'hole' in the heavens?
'Do they harbor some grudge against the gods?'
But I'd seen no such hint in Grand Duchess Luise during our time together.
Besides, the gods of this world exist.
They descend to the mortal realm now and then, perform miracles, and strike down the unworthy with their names alone.
Aiming a spear at such beings?
That went beyond rebellion—it courted apocalypse.
Right then.
"What do you think?"
"...Pardon? Yes?"
"Can you build it?"
Grand Duchess Luise was smiling right beside me, where I'd been lost in the blueprints.
Her usual impish little smile.
But now it looked different.
As if some calculation I didn't know lay hidden behind it.
Eyes testing whether I understood. Questions probing if I could cross the line.
If I answered "Yes, I can," that would mean I'd fully grasped the blueprints.
And in that instant, I'd step into the heart of the family's secrets.
Gulp.
My throat went dry on its own.
This wasn't the time to show my hand.
But I couldn't pretend ignorance either.
They'd deem me useless, and I'd never set foot here again.
I steadied my breath and opened my mouth.
"Well... I think I get it, but not entirely."
Luise's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
"What does that mean?"
"Just what I said. I've handled repairs on cathedrals and major facilities back in Valenhardt. Building the structure itself seems doable. If we're just talking externals."
I tapped the blueprints lightly.
"But... I don't know what this structure is for."
Our eyes met.
I tilted my head slightly.
"Without knowing the purpose, even a craftsman hesitates to lay hands on it. Material choices and reinforcements change depending on the building's use."
It wasn't a lie.
But it wasn't the whole truth either.
I knew.
This wasn't a building—it was a weapon.
I was just pretending not to.
"As it stands, it'd take at least ten years to complete."
A number I threw out deliberately.
Time always gets under the skin of the powerful.
If this was urgent, she'd have to reveal something.
I added casually, keeping a straight face.
"Even just telling me its 'purpose' would make the work far smoother."
This wasn't a question.
It was bait.
To see how much Grand Duchess Luise knew and how much she'd hide.
I kept my eyes fixed on the blueprints.
Make the opponent move first.
The most useful trick I'd learned navigating academic politics in my past life.
Ask the question, but let them give the answer.
That's how I'd set the board, I thought.
But my calculation went awry for one simple reason.
"Jinwoo, are you confident?"
"...Pardon?"
"Do you really want to know what this building I'm trying to make is?"
My breath caught.
This wasn't a modern boardroom.
Not a world where words alone drew lines between personal and professional.
This was the medieval era.
Where status was law, and crossing invisible lines could cost your life.
And my opponent was Libelshtein's current family head.
A woman who'd survived against countless nobles, merchants, and politicians.
No way she'd bite so easily at bait from a mere slave like me, who'd danced through political games like it was routine.
"Curious? I'll tell you."
A smile spread across her lips.
Darker than before.
"But... can you handle it?"
Her ruby eyes pierced through me.
This wasn't her usual teasing.
It felt like a warning.
One misstep here, and I'd be classified as someone who'd understood the blueprints.
And in that moment, I'd share the family's secrets.
No escape.
My mouth went dry.
For a brief moment.
Just a brief one.
Then I bowed my head.
"...My apologies. I must have been oblivious."
Acting startled.
But not too startled.
"Libelshtein's business is family affairs, no matter how it turns out. Not for me to pry into."
I carefully set the blueprints down.
"I only looked at it as a technician examining the structure. Asking the purpose was purely for work efficiency—no other intent."
Humility.
And drawing lines.
Nobles often built private annexes on whims.
Some erected bizarre towers in secret, others altars to the sky.
Frame this within those bounds.
I was just a hired craftsman.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Silence hung for a moment.
The Grand Duchess's gaze lingered over me.
A few heart-squeezing seconds.
She laughed.
This time, a genuine laugh.
"You're always so amusing, Jinwoo."
"Am I...?"
"Yes. Hehe... I just tested you once, and you lowered your stance so perfectly. The more I see, the more I want you."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Sorry, but my slave contract is already in Lady Elysia's hands."
The air lightened noticeably.
Had I passed?
"Truth is, I just wanted to tease you a bit."
Grand Duchess Luise shrugged lightly.
"I don't even know exactly what this building is, myself."
"...You don't know?"
"Nope. Apparently, a collateral branch needs it for some ritual. Their own territory is tied up in major construction, so they asked to borrow our land just this once."
Her words flowed naturally.
A noble house could grant a collateral branch's request like that.
If it was for a ritual structure, no need for the main family head to micromanage.
It sounded plausible enough.
Plausible enough to feel off.
'Too smooth... suspiciously so.'
A building under the Libelshtein name, at a collateral branch's request.
The family head knows nothing.
If anything went wrong later, blame would diffuse.
Too neat a setup.
'A structure that lets only Grand Duchess Luise escape accountability...?'
The thought flashed through my mind.
Right then.
As she handed back the blueprints, she pressed a finger to her lips for a moment.
"Shh."
A sound like a short breath.
Too subtle for a question, too precise for mere playfulness.
Then she smiled as if nothing had happened.
"Ten years of construction... Still, if it's possible, please hurry as much as you can."
Playful tone.
But the decision was made.
A position I couldn't refuse.
Now, I wasn't just the craftsman who'd seen the blueprints.
I was the one responsible for completing this structure.