Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: When You Let Your Guard Down, You Get Stabbed in the Back. (4)
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Until now, she hadn't known her own power, so it had manifested so suddenly like this.
'But if I tell her, it'll be different.'
Before that, though, there were some things I needed to talk about first.
I pulled out the leather pouch I'd tucked into my bosom and placed it on the table, loosening the knot at the opening.
"......What is all this?"
Alessia peered into the pouch and asked in a startled voice. I tilted my head slightly.
"Can't you tell by looking?"
The ores spilling from the loosened opening emitted a bright glow.
"They're ores."
"Right."
I tapped the pouch once.
The opening widened further, and the ores inside poured out onto the table.
"I want you to make a ring out of these."
"Right now, you mean."
Alessia's bewildered gaze swept over the ores.
"You want me to make a ring out of these?"
"Yeah. Is that difficult?"
"But these are......"
Alessia picked up one of the ores and examined it closely before shaking her head.
"You're not telling me to just shape them into a ring as they are, are you?"
"Of course not."
"I see what you mean. But in this state, they can't be set into a ring. They need to be faceted first."
At that moment, I sensed footsteps approaching from behind. I bit back a lazy smile and said,
"I know that. That's why you facet them and then make the ring."
Alessia's eyebrows twisted in confusion.
"Young Master. I only know how to hammer metal into items—I don't know how to facet gems......"
"Melina."
Suddenly called by name,
"Yes?"
Melina, who had just entered the forge, responded in a shrill voice.
I turned around and stared at her. She blinked rapidly, her already large eyes wide open.
"You do the faceting."
"Me?"
"Practice until you can do an emerald cut. Try to keep the curvature as even as possible."
I continued in a slow tone.
"The deadline is about three weeks. That should be plenty. No matter what ore I give you, you need to be able to facet it."
After finishing, I flicked one of the ores rolling on the table with my finger.
"Practice with these."
Silence fell over the forge for a moment.
Alessia's stunned face and Melina's gaze—half panic, half anticipation—turned toward me.
"Young Master Abel."
Alessia spoke first.
"That's impossible. I'm no expert in gem faceting, but I know what you're asking is extremely difficult."
Her gaze turned to Melina, who was frozen stiff.
"And to entrust it to a child who's never done gem faceting before? This is too much......"
"Too much what?"
I asked back in a flat voice.
"......Too much to ask."
Alessia clenched her teeth and lifted her gaze defiantly.
"I'm sorry about what happened last time. But weren't you satisfied with that gauntlet?"
Alessia's hand, visible under the table, trembled visibly. Fear she couldn't hide clouded her face.
Even so, like a doe protecting her fawn before a beast, she mustered her courage.
"So please, withdraw your order."
While Alessia gathered every ounce of her timid courage,
"Hmm."
I inspected my nails with a relaxed expression. I was blatantly ignoring her.
"Have you said everything you wanted?"
I lowered my hand and stared at her impassively. Of course, her earnest plea left me utterly unmoved.
"......"
Alessia clamped her mouth shut as if speechless. Her face slowly turned toward the floor.
'Tsk tsk.'
I clicked my tongue in dissatisfaction.
I'm trying to do something nice for her, but how could a mere commoner understand my profound intentions?
'No helping it.'
I let out a long breath and opened my mouth.
"There are three things I need to tell you."
It was a huge hassle, but for the future, I'd endure it once. If I didn't explain properly, she'd waste valuable materials like last time.
"I'll say it just once, so listen carefully."
I spoke as if begrudgingly bestowing a favor.
"First, there's something you don't know about your daughter."
"......Pardon?"
Surprised by the unexpected words, Alessia lifted her lowered face.
I nodded toward Melina.
"Melina knows how to facet gems."
"......Pardon?"
Alessia's mouth fell open. When she turned to confirm, Melina stood there frozen like a statue.
"Melina, is that true?"
"Um, well."
Melina gripped the hem of her skirt tightly—a habit when she was hiding something.
"So, Mom, I—"
As Melina stammered, Alessia raised her eyebrows and pressed her sharply.
"Tell me right now! Is it true?"
Melina's skirt crumpled haphazardly. She trembled, clutching it tight.
"Melina, hurry!"
Under the arrow-like urging,
"......Yes, it's true."
Melina finally admitted in a small voice. Alessia pressed her forehead in disbelief.
"My goodness, since when?"
"A while now."
"How did that happen?"
"Just polishing blade surfaces lightly... or adjusting the balance of crossguards if they were off."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Alessia breathed heavily before letting out a sigh.
A tense silence flowed for a moment. It was broken by,
"......I knew you'd react like this."
Melina's teary words.
"What?"
Alessia lowered the hand from her forehead. Her eyes caught Melina sniffling.
"I knew you'd say this, Mom."
"......"
"You don't want me to inherit the family trade."
Alessia looked as if the breath had caught in her throat.
"......Would I want my daughter to live this kind of life?"
She yanked up her forearm. An arm covered in burn scars and wounds.
"Look at this, Melina. This is a blacksmith's arm. It's something to be proud of as a professional, but..."
A deep regret passed over Alessia's lips.
"Not as a woman."
"Mom!"
"That's why I hoped you wouldn't get interested in this work."
"Then why last time!"
Melina cried out, eyes brimming with tears.
"Last time, with Young Master's gauntlet. You thanked me for helping!"
"......"
"I want to work in the forge! I want to keep helping you, Mom!"
Alessia rebuffed Melina's sobs with a firm voice.
"Helping is fine—fetching tools, those kinds of chores. But making it your trade is another matter."
"But—"
"Don't even dream of this line of work. I won't allow it."
Alessia glared fiercely at Melina.
"Gem faceting is the same. It's still handling metal. Absolutely not."
"Mom, but I—"
"Melina."
"......"
Melina's lips moved silently, as if at a loss for words. She looked like she had so much to say, but Alessia's stern gaze sealed her lips.
"Ugh......"
Finally, tears streamed down Melina's cheeks. Her face full of grievance and hurt.
"Mom, I really want to do it."
"......"
"It's not hammering hot metal. Just polishing. And it's so much fun. That delicate work is really enjoyable."
Alessia's eyes shook violently for a moment.
Melina's fumbling explanation must have overlapped with her own image when she worked as a blacksmith.
She had found hammering metal fun and enjoyable too. But she knew all too well it wasn't everything in life.
Alessia forced strength into her eyes.
"I said no."
"But Mom...!"
"Melina!"
In the end, Alessia's voice rose. Her shout echoed loudly through the forge.
And at that point,
"That's enough."
I halted the intense mother-daughter argument.
"Save the fighting for when I'm not here."
The two finally noticed my presence and backed down.
"......I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, Young Master."
Without erasing my bored expression, I continued.
"Second, the identity of that green light that often appeared when you were making items, Alessia."
Alessia flinched and straightened up.
She hadn't expected her name from my mouth. Especially regarding that strange power she'd found suspicious herself.
I gazed at her steadily and said,
"That's the Guardian's Power."
"......!"
Alessia's mouth gaped open before she hurriedly covered it with her hand.
"My goodness."
A groan-like sound leaked from her covered mouth.
"Guardian's Power?"
Melina, unaware of the situation, tilted her head. Her reddened eyes made her look like a little mountain rabbit.
'Cute.'
Instead of explaining at length to Melina, I asked Alessia,
"You know what that is, right?"
"I-I've heard of it, but......"
"Yeah. It's a legend passed down among blacksmiths."
Alessia stammered in disbelief.
"You're saying I'm the Guardian's Hand......?"
"Right."
I affirmed briefly and added,
"Don't doubt it needlessly. I've already tested it."
"Was it last time...... Ah, that gauntlet? But that was—"
Alessia, who had spoken unconsciously, shut her mouth again under my cold gaze.
"......No, never mind."
She realized she shouldn't pry into that gauntlet's purpose. Satisfied with her wisdom, I said,
"The key is the desire to protect. That manifests the Guardian's Power."
"Ah."
Alessia smacked her forehead as if finally enlightened. Joy spread across eyes once filled with suspicion and doubt.
"So that's why."
Recalling the moment she'd manifested that power, she realized my words rang true.
"Really, something this unbelievable......"
Alessia shook her head side to side a few times and asked,
"But how do you know about it, Young Master? It's not even well-known among blacksmiths. And you even know the exact conditions for manifesting it."
To Alessia's sparkling eyes full of curiosity and doubt, I replied indifferently,
"I'm a bit smart."
"......"
Alessia nearly twisted her lips but,
"Third, why the Guardian's Power is rarely passed down."
Froze at my words.
"......What do you mean?"
Fear surged onto Alessia's face. She sensed the weight behind my words.
"You haven't heard what happened when the Guardian's Hand was born."
Like an elder telling an old tale, I opened my mouth with a benevolent expression.
"Protecting the user from all evil, all harm. What could be sweeter?"
"......"
"For nobles who value their own finger more than another's life."
Only then did Alessia grasp my meaning, her face paling blue.
"No way......"