Chapter 13: A Diamond stained by Power.

“That’s a good idea. It will be difficult right now, but take your time and try to understand this magic circle. And don’t forget, as you probably already know, keep this drawing out of others’ sight.”

Kind advice was added. It felt exactly like someone was pulling me from behind. The thought that he might be testing me surged my motivation.

The King’s Brother seemed to assume I wouldn’t be able to properly transfer this necklace onto paper.

It was an opportunity to raise my value even further.

“Then shall we do our work as well? As you can see, I haven’t recovered physically yet, so it’s hard for me to write a letter myself. I have no strength in my hands. Philip, I’ll ask you to ghostwrite.”

The King’s Brother dictated a letter to be sent to the King while approving the documents he had put off with the hand he claimed had no strength.

Philip started writing down the King’s Brother’s words like an automaton, and the King’s spy stood politely with his head bowed like a toy with drained batteries.

I also took a seat at the tea table and bowed my head.

The necklace, reflecting light so brilliantly as if emitting light itself, was waiting for me.

Antique diamond. Perfect condition.

And on top of that, high-level magic is cast on it.

I had to draw this.

Though called a drawing, it was practically a reverse engineering task.

I had to accurately mark the placement and grade of the stones.

Even the persistent magic circle made up of auxiliary stones, perfectly without error.

Although it wasn’t something where I could exercise creativity, this would be a very fun task.

I captured the overall outline and drew the angles and number of facets of the cutting in detail.

The polishing was simple because it was an item from before the Brilliant Cut emerged, but the technology itself must have been the best of its time.

However, viewing with the naked eye had its limits.

I needed a standard 10x magnifying loupe.

The reason a treasure is a treasure lies in the details.

As I felt my limits, my concentration also broke.

When I raised my head, the King’s Brother had finished dictating the letter to the King and was looking at me.

“Do you perhaps have a magic item that can magnify things?”

“Wait.”

“Is such an item also equipped in the study?”

“Because adventurous people attempting to forge documents appear occasionally.”

“Oh dear.”

At my condolences for the reckless, the King’s Brother agreed with a low laugh.

Even though it was the King who sent the spy and that spy was right in front of us, while I was feeling a strange mood as if we were a duo of villains, his hand appeared in front of my eyes again.

On the King’s Brother’s hand lay a very antique-looking monocle magnifier, a loupe.

“Do you know how to use it?”

“How should I use it?”

“This part is the eyepiece.”

Even wearing the loupe, the vision didn’t change.

It became even blurrier due to the poor quality of the glass.

“Am I wearing it correctly?”

“You have to press this part.”

Speaking with a voice reviving his playfulness, the King’s Brother pressed a part of the loupe.

I felt mana flowing.

The next moment, the world on my right became dizzyingly large.

“…Is this magic too?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

This strange world where poor glass quality is compensated by magic was still unfamiliar to me.

****

“Are you done?”

I sighed, putting down the pen.

As I rotated my stiff wrist to loosen it, the King’s Brother asked me as if he had been waiting.

“Yes, could you review it to see if there are any errors?”

The King’s Brother smiled broadly.

That very kind-looking face seemed to say there couldn’t possibly be any errors.

Well, would that be the case?

Glancing at the employer looking down at the drawing, I turned my gaze forward.

The King’s spy, who had to receive the King’s Brother’s reply and the necklace to return, was still maintaining a polite posture with his hands gathered in front and head bowed.

“He must be in pain, that person.”

The colors of melee-sized fancy colored diamonds (colored diamonds) consisted of much more diverse grades than I thought.

Even those that looked colorless actually had very faint colors, forming a natural gradation overall.

Using the colorless D-grade main stone as a standard, I marked the color grades one by one, from light to dark colors.

It means it was a task that took quite a bit of time.

Throughout that time, that spy stood rigid like a statue.

“It is a lenient punishment considering his spy role was discovered.”

I nodded at the King’s Brother’s words.

It was true.

The time that spy stays like a statue will become a bit longer due to the words I’m about to say, but he reaps what he sows.

“An abnormal phenomenon was observed in the central diamond.”

I handed the necklace and loupe to the King’s Brother.

“Nothing is visible to the naked eye, but if you use the magnifying glass, you can observe a black stain moving periodically inside.”

It was a main stone that appeared to be FL grade (Flawless. The highest grade with no inclusions or external blemishes found) at the first observation.

But when I tried to check again, a black stain shimmered.

It was impossible.

A moving stain inside a diamond, the hardest mineral.

If I hadn’t known magic, I would have thought I developed floaters in my eye.

Eye abnormalities are fatal for both appraisers and jewelers.

The King’s Brother’s brow furrowed as he examined the drawing.

I handed him the loupe and the necklace.

From the moment the King’s Brother put on the loupe, I counted the numbers inwardly.

Twenty, twenty-one, and twenty-two.

Finally, a chuckle leaked from between the King’s Brother’s lips.

I was glad my employer was a patient person.

“This is what happens when you carelessly handle a treasure you can’t handle.”

The King’s Brother looked quite refreshed after taking the loupe off his eye. As if he had solved a secret entangled with a legendary necklace.

My employer is certainly not a quiet or docile person. He seemed extremely happy that the King got screwed over.

“Could you explain it to me as well?”

“A black stain appearing means the gem has been contaminated. It occurs when a gem is exposed to unsuitable magical power for a long time or accepts mana exceeding its limit capacity. The most common case is when the handler is unskilled.”

The King’s Brother’s kind explanation even felt rhythmic.

I turned my gaze to the spy still maintaining one posture. He couldn’t express his will as if recognizing only the King’s Brother’s commands, but his shoulders were trembling, perhaps unable to help the load on his body.

The amount of magical power required by the necklace was immeasurable at my level.

Leaving aside the endowed magic, this necklace, which would cost an astronomical amount just by the value of the gems, could not possibly be handled at will by that spy whose pheromones are also weak.

The one contaminating the necklace was the King.

“Hearing the news that my cousin made an effort, it seems my brother is in a hurry. Indeed, since his ears were dark, he must have wanted to brighten them.”

It was a meaningful remark in many ways. A royal with succession rights had an heir, and the King seemed to be furious after confirming the fact belatedly.

And he seemed anxious wondering if a variable had occurred for the King’s Brother, who possesses powerful pheromones.

“So you heard the news before the King.”

The most surprising thing is that my employer, who only stayed in seclusion, knew the news before the King.

I became convinced that the King’s Brother, who cannot become King no matter how powerful his pheromones are, will not obediently suffer even if a time comes when he becomes politically disadvantaged.

“Duke.”

“What?”

“I will work harder in the future.”

Honestly speaking, I probably won’t get fired easily in the future.

If I say it with my own mouth, it might sound impertinent as the King’s Brother said, but the fact that I have secured a firm position in this mansion doesn’t change.

Facts are facts.

I absolutely do not think I can slack off.

My firm position ultimately stems from my rare constitution.

Of course, I have talent enough to draw precise reverse engineering diagrams of royal treasures and brew coffee well, but those are actually not the most important reasons.

Being rare doesn’t mean being unique.

It means another person with a constitution like mine could appear.

The King’s Brother, who needs a Beta unaffected by pheromones, might choose someone other than me at that time.

No matter how low the probability, if it happens to me, it becomes a 100% probability for me.

To not lose my job, I must work harder in the future.

Of course, I believe a thick bonus will follow at the end of hard work.

“Truly, an impertinent servant.”

Receiving my gaze of trust, the employer shook his head and called the spy with his finger.

Is it just my imagination? The spy walked forward with stiff steps as if he had a cramp.

He received the necklace the King’s Brother returned as if throwing it preciously and put it back on his neck.

“Please keep that drawing, Duke.”

There was a limit to me, a mere servant, hiding a drawing of a nation’s national treasure. The King’s Brother looked down at my drawing without much comment.

Soon the drawing went into the desk drawer, and shortly after, the sound of the drawer locking with a click was heard.

It meant there were indeed no flaws in my drawing.

My mouth corners went up automatically. Seeing my smiling face, the King’s Brother looked dumbfounded as if amazed.

****

【Ignis.】

Along with the activation word meaning fire, a fireball floated above the King’s Brother’s palm.

I couldn’t hide a look of disbelief at this dumbfounding sight.

“Since you know how to use the pot’s ruby skillfully, it would be best to start with fire magic. Try to recall the sensation when you infused mana into the ruby. Think of it as the concept of heating the air above your palm. It is fire you called forth, so it won’t harm you. So don’t be scared… Why are you making that face?”

My knowledge of science is very limited.

The only things I know properly are related to gems, such as their composition elements, formation conditions, and hardness.

I have only heard the word thermodynamics.

But even someone like me knows that the redder a flame is, the lower its temperature, and the bluer it is, the higher its temperature.

Because a welding torch was a tool I used often.

And above the King’s Brother’s palm, who was showing me magic as a ‘demonstration’, a bright blue flame was soaring.

The intensity of the light was so strong that covering my eyes with my hand wasn’t enough; I had to turn my head away entirely.

It was inevitable.

Because it was stronger than the light of a welding torch!

“Ah, I guess that was excessive.”

The King’s Brother belatedly dispelled the magic.

I barely opened my eyes, but my vision was still dizzy from the afterimage.

It was due to seeing something—whether it was fire magic or light magic—right before my eyes, combined with the ceiling chandelier reflecting that light.

“Is it alright to practice magic here?”

The place the King’s Brother brought me to teach me magic was the banquet hall.

“This is the only place that is wide and empty.”

The master of the house gave a concise answer.It was an attitude suggesting that no banquet would ever be held here anyway.

Rather, his tone implied he had finally found a proper use for this spacious area.