Chapter 30: Smiles Without Meaning.

Not only the morning routine, but my magic circle lessons were also not happening.

For the third day, the schedule where I, the exclusive servant, met the Duke face-to-face was drastically reduced compared to before.

Entertaining guests who visited the study during the day, it would soon become time for the Duke’s outing.

It was a schedule to crack down on Teneb, as heard in his bedroom.

It was unavoidable.

“Yes, then I will sort the letters until lunchtime.”

“…”

“Is there anything else I need to do?”

Philip, who was quietly looking down at me, twitched his eyes.

“…A recommended child will arrive soon.”

“Is that so?”

“There won’t be an incident like Tommy’s.”

“Yes.”

That must be so. Since the night outing is for that purpose. The Duke won’t repeat the same mistake.

“You should teach that child.”

Philip’s tired complexion caught my eye again.

The fact that I am now the most senior among the children remaining in the mansion also came to mind anew.

“Yes.”

“…”

“Do you have anything more to say?”

“Just wondering why you aren’t saying you dislike it for once.”

The look of wonder should be on my face, not Philip’s.

“Have I ever not done what you ordered, Butler?”

Though I have done things I wasn’t ordered to do.

Philip frowned as if searching his memory. Then soon looked down at me with truly surprised eyes.

“I see. That’s why…”

Muttering incomprehensibly to himself, Philip nodded.

“I’ll go rest now.”

“Yes, please rest. See you later.”

When the butler returned to his room, I was left alone in the hallway.

Those who worked the night shift must be sleeping in their respective rooms, and those working the day shift must be busy working in the main building across the hallway.

Normally, it was time for me to work hard too.

But since both the employer and the direct superior are resting, it’s like I’m forced to take a break too.

Sorting letters doesn’t take that long.

What should I do?

After sorting letters… I realized there was no urgent task to do immediately after that.

I stopped abruptly like a broken robot. I was flustered.

I was someone who knew how to spend time alone.

I had to know.

Not only on Earth but also here in Henia.

I had to clumsily prepare and dry seafood picked up from the port, ruminate over the characters and numbers on coins learned over shoulders countless times, and practice the low-efficiency mana breathing technique learned from Butler Philip all night long.

Because otherwise, I was anxious.

I had to stop my thoughts flowing in the worst direction.

I inhaled deeply.

Cold winter air entered through the still-open door and cooled my head.

Even if there’s nothing urgent to do right now, there are many things to do.

Let’s organize the letters first.

Next, do mana breathing for about 30 minutes, and then let’s set the main theme for next year’s F/W watch design.

If there’s still time left after that, let’s plan accessory designs too.

Aesthetic aspects are important, of course, but functional aspects cannot be ignored in this world.

I really need to study magic circles properly.

It’s unavoidable that lessons are postponed, but reading the introductory book again is something I can do.

There were so many things to do.

Enough to prevent me from thinking about other things.

****

It was exactly 2:15 PM, when the sun was highest, that I performed the routine task of serving coffee to the Duke, taking advantage of a brief break in visitors.

“Let’s find Henia’s time, huh…”

Receiving strong sunlight coming from the window with curtains completely pulled back, the Duke lowered his eyelids.

“It was indeed an inconvenient time standard for mages.”

Like all countries in the Old Continent, Henia also accepted and used Petan’s standard time as is.

It was a remnant of the Great Empire that once unified the Old Continent.

Petan was a nation rebuilt inheriting the collapsed capital of the Empire, and was the center of culture.

Even after the Empire split into respective countries, Petan language was the common language of the continent’s nobles.

Until a novel written in Henian by a great storyteller became an unprecedented hit, Petan language was the measure of culture even in Henia.

Afterward, as another Henian made a great magical discovery comparable to that epoch-making novel, Henia gradually tried to escape Petan’s influence.

That’s why the current King was even more unpopular.

Because the person who gave birth to him was a dominant Omega from Petan.

Defeated in a naval battle over the sovereignty of Portus Island, an important port of call on the route to the New Continent in the sea between Petan and Henia, Henia had to pay massive war reparations to Petan.

Henia starting to lag behind in the scramble for the New Continent also originated from this war.

Not only that, the Crown Prince, who was of marriageable age at the time, had to welcome a Crown Princess from Petan.

Along with the servants and guests who followed him.

It was an event that reinforced Petan’s cultural and political influence which had been gradually fading.

The current King was always suspected since his days as the Royal Grandson.

Whether there was a secret pact with Petan.

Even when his mother died and his father, the Crown Prince, remarried a recessive Omega, losing his succession rights, conspiracy theories were rampant.

Because he became first in line for succession at once.

Even after becoming King, conspiracy theories reportedly haven’t subsided completely.

More than half the reason he is at odds with the conservative Prime Minister in many ways is due to his blood ties with Petan.

Checking the Duke while unable to touch him directly was because the Duke was the one inheriting pure Henian blood.

Harming him, who has no succession rights, would bring far more loss than gain to the King.

So our King seemed to want to declare that there is no secret pact between him and Petan, taking the opportunity of heightened war atmosphere with Petan in the New Continent.

“If standard time is established based on Noberten, watch sales will explode again.”

Isn’t patriotic marketing a bigger purchase driving force than anything else?

Actually, most Henians probably didn’t feel much inconvenience about the fact that the culmination time wasn’t noon but 2:15 PM.

Just as I was confused at first but eventually adapted.

But when hostility toward Petan reaches its peak like this, the ‘independent time of Henia’ claimed by the King will gain persuasiveness.

Then naturally, watches that can tell time will sell like hotcakes, and there is no maker that can follow us in watch market share.

“Interesting. The King must have thought of using time as a weapon for public opinion warfare because of our watches.”

“They say row when the water comes in; how about releasing a special edition? Drawing the national flag on the watch face and making the national anthem play automatically at noon.”

“Shall we name the product Henia?”

“Sounds good. We’ll have to recruit a music box artisan.”

“No need to make it long, about 10 seconds should do. At that length, we can make the parts small, so there won’t be a problem.”

“Let’s make the national flag with diamonds for the top-tier product. Differentiate the strap too. Gold would be better than leather. An alloy of gold, silver, and copper.”

As I spoke, the picture became clear.

I found paper and a pen and grabbed them.

Henia’s national flag consists of simple lines, so it could be easily expressed with melee diamonds.

If the royal crest goes in, it becomes very complicated, but it’s rather fortunate that using the royal crest carelessly leads to being dragged away for lèse-majesté.

Since the watch face itself is already dazzlingly splendid, the hour, minute, and second hands must be simplified.

Day and night indicators to distinguish noon and midnight are essential, but I removed other functions.

Because the important thing is the national flag on the watch face.

Ah, I must include internal lighting.

So the national flag can be seen anytime.

I put the time indicators on the outside of the watch face, on the fixed bezel.

Of course, the time indicators are also diamonds placed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 positions.

Thanks to that, the bezel becomes a bit thick, but it suited perfectly as it would make the watch stand out more.

The reason for this design is also clear. Because the national flag shouldn’t be covered.

If I make a bracelet with a metal chain made of 14k gold, an alloy of 58.5% gold, 25% silver, and 16% copper… the balance seemed off.

Because the metal chain looks dull compared to the splendor of the watch face.

Then the center of the chain also had to be decorated with diamonds.

Looking at the completed design, I honestly admired it even though I drew it.

The theme was very clear.

I finally understood the minds of people who bother to make gold turtles or gold toads and those who bother to buy and collect them.

The watch most favored by the loan shark chairman, who collected anything made of gold as long as it was an animal statue, was gold-plated.

This targeted commercial viability thoroughly rather than my design taste, and I’m confident it will work.

I intend to use the opportunity given by the King properly.

If he intended to free ride, I want to let him know he barked up the wrong tree.

This side can also use him as much as we want.

“How is it?”

Seeing my design, the Duke gave a cheerful smile.

“It’s a design that read the King’s mind properly. How many do you intend to make?”

“How about a thousand?”

“If it’s a thousand, nobles who can’t get that watch will be treated as fools. Something interesting is going to happen.”

That was exactly my intention.

A thousand is a quantity that seems like all nobles in the capital could buy, but actually slightly falls short of the noble population in the capital.

At this point when the King steps forward to ignite the atmosphere, if they don’t buy this watch whether voluntarily or involuntarily, they will be evaluated as behind the times or lacking financial power, and accordingly, brand awareness and value will jump.

Since the Duke guessed my intention exactly, I gave an exaggerated grin like Villain 1 plotting a conspiracy.

“I look forward to the next statement.”

“I look forward to it too. How many modifiers you will attach to me.”

The Duke also said with a mischievous-looking smile.

But I could tell That he wasn’t genuinely amused.

He would know too That I wouldn’t call him with playful modifiers anymore.

His gaze touched my wrist for a moment and fell.

On the left wrist wearing the entry-level model, not the watch he gave.

We looked at each other with meaningless smiles.