Chapter 16
Chapter 16
After going to scold Aileen and instead getting thoroughly humiliated himself, Toma Harens stormed into the office.
The employees inside looked as if struck by lightning and turned toward Anton Brown and the other staff members who followed him in.
Without saying a word, they shook their heads. The situation clearly wasn’t good.
Toma Harens sat down and immediately began chain-smoking. Before long, the office filled with acrid smoke.
“That damned woman… there’s a limit to how much humiliation a person can take.”
From time to time he muttered to himself, grinding his teeth as he cursed Aileen.
“A little brat who isn’t even worth a fistful, acting arrogant just because she has the lord backing her. This is why young people are no good. Don’t you think so, Anton?”
“That’s right.”
Anton Brown immediately took the team leader’s side.
“And the lord was being unreasonable too. How could he take the side of that insignificant nobody instead of the team leader who has served loyally for over ten years?”
“Exactly.”
For a brief moment, Toma Harens felt relieved knowing someone understood him.
But then the thought that he had to create some strange thing called a test model made his head throb.
What if—though unlikely—his design was actually wrong?
And what if that woman mocked him when it was revealed?
“Damn it.”
Just thinking about it made his anger surge, and he spat out a harsh curse.
“My design cannot possibly be wrong.”
Yes. The triangular roof he created was perfect.
No—it had to be perfect.
Only then could he avoid public humiliation from Aileen and others. Only then could the bribery matter remain buried.
“If you properly prove your abilities, I’ll overlook the golden turtle you received from the Oak Heart Workshop master.”
As he recalled the quiet words Calix Krauvel had whispered into his ear earlier, Toma Harens squeezed his eyes shut.
In truth, he had received a golden turtle in exchange for sending construction requests exclusively to the Oak Heart Workshop.
Only he and the workshop master knew about it.
There was no evidence.
No witnesses.
That was why he had remained confident when Aileen suggested investigating the matter.
He had believed it would never be discovered.
But how did the lord know so precisely?
He was curious—and at the same time, he didn’t want to know.
All he wanted was for everything to be quietly buried.
To do that, I must prove it.
He had to prove that he was right.
Better yet, if he could expose Aileen as a boastful fraud and drive her out of the Urban Development Department, that would be ideal.
“Team Leader, the copy of the blueprints for the District 8 multi-family housing has arrived.”
When the employee handed him the blueprint copies, Toma Harens frowned.
At the time, he had proudly said he could build the model with only the blueprints.
But in truth, he had no confidence.
The concept of a scaled model was new to him, and it didn’t seem possible to build one just by looking at drawings.
“…Anton.”
Toma Harens quietly called Anton Brown and handed him the copied blueprint for the multi-family housing building along with the triangular roof design he had drawn himself.
“Take these to the Oak Heart Workshop and tell them to make whatever this ‘scaled model’ is, reduced to a 1:30 ratio.”
From that day on, I went straight to the multi-family housing building instead of the office.
Since I had obtained the lord’s reluctant permission anyway, there was no reason to waste time going to the office.
Not that anyone there would welcome me.
I’d be lucky if they didn’t glare at me.
Once again, I spent the day removing damp ceilings and wallpaper, drying structures, and doing repair work.
“Please try this, miss. It’s bread from our shop—it’s very delicious.”
“Bread alone might be dry, so please drink this juice with it.”
Had rumors spread that I was some kind of hero helping the residents despite the team leader’s opposition?
Not only the building residents but even people from the surrounding area began taking good care of me.
Of course, it wasn’t purely kindness.
They subtly mentioned problems with their own houses.
They were probably hoping I would repair theirs as well.
“Are you really sure this is okay, Aileen?”
Tabin had become increasingly worried.
“Yes, it’s fine. Don’t tell me you don’t believe me?”
When I asked, Tabin waved his hands in alarm.
“That’s not what I meant. I was only asking just in case. The Urban Development Department team leader must have years of experience in this field, so his skills must be considerable.”
“I don’t know about experience, but I’m definitely better than him.”
At least in that one regard, I was completely confident.
“More importantly, I think we’ll have to remove the entire floor in the first-floor corridor. I checked earlier—it’s rotten.”
“I’ll handle that. You go work on the scaled model.”
“No, we’ll do it together.”
“No need. There are only two days left, so hurry and build it.”
Before I could protest further, Tabin took the pry bar from my hand.
“It’s really fine…”
I had already finished modifying the triangular roof design to match the building model yesterday.
This morning I secured the materials.
All that remained was to build the triangular roof according to the design.
That would only take half a day, so I planned to work on it during breaks while doing other tasks.
But instead, I received unexpected consideration.
“It should be fine to leave it to him.”
Removing floorboards required no special skill—only strength.
So I left the task to Tabin and sat down at the temporary workbench.
Then I took out the blueprints I had brought from home.
One was the triangular roof design.
The other was the copied blueprint of this building.
The copy was covered with red markings—corrections of structural errors.
“Even looking at it again, it’s terrible.”
It was astonishing that the building hadn’t collapsed yet despite being constructed according to such awful blueprints.
Maybe that was why the monsoon damage had been so severe.
“Big sister.”
While I was clicking my tongue at the blueprint, the boy suddenly appeared.
His name was…
“Seo, you’re here.”
“It’s Theo.”
Theo clicked his tongue in annoyance and placed his hands on his hips.
“Please remember my name already.”
“Alright. Theo. I won’t forget this time.”
Only then did he lower his hands.
“Did you hear the news, big sister?”
“What news?”
“My friend’s father works transporting cargo wagons. Early yesterday morning, he delivered something like a toy from the Oak Heart Workshop to the lord’s castle annex.”
Theo glanced around before lowering his voice.
“And they did it secretly.”
“Maybe it was the triangular roof model?”
“Probably.”
Theo’s eyes widened at my calm answer.
“Aren’t you angry? The scaled model is supposed to be made personally. That breaks the rules.”
“That’s true, but I’m not angry.”
“Why?”
I thought for a moment before answering honestly.
“He’s trying desperately to prove something even though he doesn’t have the ability. If anything, I feel sorry for him.”
“I’ve thought this before, but big sister, you’re kind of strange.”
Usually people say things like that where the person can’t hear.
“But I really like you, big sister.”
A perfect example of hurting someone then comforting them.
“I’m going to become a great carpenter like you someday.”
“Not a miner?”
In medieval times, children usually followed their parents’ occupations.
That was the only life they knew.
“Being a carpenter seems cooler than being a miner. I want to become a good carpenter like you—someone who helps others.”
It was clearly praise, yet somehow I felt embarrassed.
“Ah, I’ve been bothering you too long. Good luck! You have to win!”
“It’s not about winning or losing. I’m just proving my skill.”
“Still, I hope you win.”
Theo cheered me on repeatedly before running off.
“Cute.”
When I first met him, he seemed pitiful and a little annoying.
But somehow I had grown fond of him.
I really should remember his name properly from now on.
“It’s finished.”
Thanks to Tabin and the others helping me, I finished before sunset.
I smiled with satisfaction while looking at the triangular roof model.
“You finished already.”
Tabin approached after completing his work.
“But it looks different from the one I saw in the Hunter’s Village.”
“That’s because the building shape is different.”
This one was designed specifically for a multi-family housing structure.
Naturally it would look different.
“Time passed quickly.”
The sun hadn’t set yet, so I thought it was earlier—but it was already six in the evening.
“Let’s store this in the warehouse and head home.”
It was too heavy to carry back, and it might get damaged on the way.
So I placed the triangular roof model in the temporary storage building.
Calling it a warehouse was generous—it was simply an empty house.
Apparently an elderly couple once lived there, but for some reason no one used it now.
So it had become a temporary storage space for our workbench and materials.
“Let’s go.”
After locking the front door, Tabin and I left the multi-family housing building together.