Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Blade is Sharpest When Hidden. (4)
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The room was tidy and refined, unlike the flashy first floor. It was exactly what one would imagine a noble's study to be.
"Ah."
Melina couldn't continue her thoughts about the room.
"You're here?"
Abel waved from the front.
"-!"
Sunlight poured in through a massive window that occupied an entire wall, illuminating the man seated in the chair beneath it.
"Melina."
His lips moved, pronouncing her name.
A crisp white shirt with starched collar and a vest made of glossy fine fabric. Everything fit him perfectly, as if tailored for him from birth.
"You're late."
Abel leaned back in his chair, reviewing documents. His elegant yet intellectual demeanor was the epitome of a flawless young noble lord.
"Ah, Young Master Abel?"
Melina froze in shock.
Abel, gazing at the documents in the sunlight, was dazzling.
All memories of him from Ovest Territory faded, replaced by this moment etched into her retinas.
"Ah......"
Thump, thump.
Her heart raced.
In just a few weeks, Abel had changed so much.
His once brooding face had calmed, and his voice carried a maturity beyond his years.
'What happened during that time?'
The last time she saw him, she had a premonition that he would go far away.
She never imagined he would come to the distant capital, let alone become the owner of such a grand building.
"Ah, hello."
Melina pulled herself together and bowed, placing a hand over her chest. She could still feel her heart pounding.
'Get it together, Melina.'
She couldn't keep acting dazed.
"It's been a while, Young Master."
"This way."
Abel gestured without acknowledging her greeting. It was just like him.
As soon as Melina sat in the chair by the table,
"Have you grown any taller?"
Abel's teasing tone made her bristle.
"I have!"
"Really? You look the same."
"I grew!"
Abel chuckled and stood.
"You brought what I asked for, right?"
He plopped down across from her.
"Uh......"
Melina hesitated briefly. A lazy fragrance wafted over as he sat.
"Melina?"
At his repeated question, she snapped out of it.
"Ah, yes. I brought it properly."
She forced her gaze from him to her backpack, untying the straps and rummaging inside.
Since it was what Abel had commissioned, she had kept it on her at all times to avoid losing it.
In the meantime, the woman who had guided Melina approached quietly and stood behind Abel, as if attending him.
"Here."
Melina pulled out the pouch, and Abel nodded toward it.
"Take it out."
Melina opened the pouch and selected a few gems, placing them on the table.
"I succeeded with the emerald cut as you specified."
Abel picked up each gem, examining them meticulously, as if grading them.
Gulp.
Melina's mouth went dry. The longer his silence lasted, the more her heart pounded.
"Not bad."
Finally, Abel finished evaluating all the gems. His sharp gaze turned to her pouch.
"But that's not all, is it."
"......!"
It pierced right through her.
"Actually......"
Melina hesitated, then confessed the truth.
"I got so excited that I tried various cuts......"
"Various cuts? Like what?"
"I tried marquise and cushion cuts too. Depending on the ore type, the refractive index and brilliance differ."
She started off hesitant but soon rattled on enthusiastically. Despite everything, she was truly passionate about gem cutting.
"Then I thought certain cuts would suit certain ores, so I experimented with some new ones myself."
At that moment, Abel's eyes sharpened. Like a predator finally catching its prey.
"Show me."
"Huh? But they're not good enough to show anyone......"
"Hurry."
Urged by Abel, Melina reluctantly pulled them out, mumbling excuses.
"Don't laugh...... It was just practice. Okay?"
"That's up to me."
"......"
Clatter.
The gems Melina brought out scattered across the table. Abel examined each one with pursed lips.
"This is......"
The woman beside Abel let out a sigh-like gasp. Abel and Melina turned to her simultaneously.
"What's wrong?"
Abel asked, and the woman hesitated before answering.
"......I'm just surprised."
"Why."
"No gemcutter in the capital could achieve this level of cutting right now."
Melina, who had been tense listening to her, doubted her ears.
"Huh?"
"You're not even twenty yet, Miss Melina...... Such delicate work."
The woman placed one gem on her palm.
"Look at this scintillation. To get this much light, you need consistent refraction and careful polishing."
Her fingers lifted the gem and slowly rotated it.
"See this flash? It only appears with precise cuts suited to the gem's size."
"Uh, um......"
Melina fidgeted, unsure how to respond to the flood of praise.
"It's not that surprising."
Abel replied indifferently, propping his chin and gazing steadily at Melina.
"I knew you could do it."
To Abel, who had read the original story, it was a meaningless remark. But to Melina, it was different.
"Uh, wha......"
Her mind went blank. Her chest swelled with heat, her nose tingling.
She recalled her mother's worried gaze as she struggled with gems.
'Just watch. Melina will become the empire's greatest jeweler.'
Abel's confident face overlapped with it—the first to believe in her skills, the first to cheer her on.
"......"
Melina couldn't name the feeling. But one thing was clear: she would never forget this moment.
She quietly clasped her hands on her lap. Her chest was so full that opening her mouth might reveal a trembling voice.
"Melina."
Abel's calm voice tickled her ear.
"......Yes."
She barely composed herself and replied.
"What's this?"
Lifting her head, she saw Abel holding a transparent gem—one beyond his commission.
"I was pondering how to maximize its light output."
"How many facets total?"
"Um......"
Melina recalled and answered.
"Including the flat top table, fifty-eight."
"I see."
Abel glanced at the woman beside him. She stood briefly, then went to the desk where he had been sitting.
"Here."
What she retrieved from the drawer was a round gray stone. Melina examined it but saw nothing special.
"Why this?"
"Cut it like that."
Abel spoke carefully.
"Like you said, maximize the light output. That's the key."
Melina realized he valued this task greatly. Her treatment would depend on the results.
"......Understood. I'll do my best."
Abel smiled satisfactorily at her resolute answer.
"And what Alessia made?"
"Ah, here."
Melina pulled another pouch from her bag.
Clink.
Silver rings, earrings, and accessories spilled out—Alessia's painstaking creations.
"Hmm."
Abel slipped a ring onto his finger. Thanks to her experience with his gauntlet, Alessia had nailed the size.
"Perfect fit."
Abel's eyes narrowed, assessing something. Soon, a satisfied smile curved his lips.
"Good. She did it right."
"Whew."
Melina sighed in relief. Her mother had said light shone through it during creation, but she had been anxious.
"Let me see......"
Abel checked the gem settings on the ring, then picked up an earring.
"......How does this go on?"
Watching him struggle with it, Melina thought,
'Should I offer to do it?'
But she hesitated to step forward. Then,
"Shall I do it for you?"
The low voice of the woman beside them came.
"If you entrust it to me, I'll pierce your earlobe."
"Really?"
Abel turned to her.
"Then—"
"I'll do it!"
Melina couldn't hold back and blurted out.
"Hm?"
Abel's puzzled gaze and the middle-aged woman's eyes met hers. Feeling her neck heat up, Melina repeated.
"I'll do it."
"You?"
Abel eyed her skeptically up and down.
"I've done it many times. I'm confident."
"What if you make my ear bleed?"
"I'll pierce it without bleeding!"
"Oh, right."
Abel chuckled and waved the woman off.
"You're dismissed."
"Yes."
She retreated quietly. Her gaze lingered on Melina for a split second before dropping.
"Go ahead, try."
Abel leaned slightly toward Melina.
"-!"
Melina inhaled sharply. His face was too close.
His long lashes stood out under gently closed eyes, and his slightly pale skin gleamed in the light.
"Uh......"
Melina stared blankly, then
Gulp.
swallowed and picked up the earring from the desk. She sterilized the needle with cotton from the middle-aged woman and grasped Abel's ear.
"......"
It was surprisingly soft.
To think the man who seemed impervious even to blade tips had such a spot—it startled her.
The fragrance from earlier intensified. Up close, it was even sweet.
'Calm down, calm.'
Melina avoided sniffing. She stretched his earlobe taut and positioned the needle.
"It might sting a bit."
"Yeah."
"One, two, three."
On the count of three, she thrust firmly.
Pop.
The needle pierced flesh with a soft sound.
"Not too painful."
Abel murmured with eyes closed.
"Right?"
Melina exhaled in relief, securing the needle. Hiding her flushed face, she stepped back.
"All done."
"Let me check......"
Abel looked at his ear in the mirror the woman had brought.
"Looks good."
He brushed back his blue hair slightly, making the dangling silver earring more visible.
Melina's gaze was stolen by the earring's reflected light—and by Abel's sharp nose and delicate lips beside it.
'......Ah.'
Unconsciously, her heart pounded again like a drum. Something was wrong with it today.
'Ugh, please.'
She worried the sound might escape her body.
"Nervous?"
Abel glanced at her and smirked.
"Your face is red again."
"Ah, no."
Melina barely replied in a small voice. It was hard to look straight at him.
'Why does the earring suit him so perfectly?'