Chapter 55: Reading the Mana inside Red Diamonds.

Gems scattering red radiance were laid out in front of me.

These were the gems Duchess Mare commissioned me to set.

“I hope you aren’t disappointed by the small size of the gems.”

Compared to the giant stones I had seen so far, these were of a size that couldn’t be called weighty. The largest of the already cut red gems seemed to be just over 5 carats, and the rest were less than 1 carat.

They were much closer to pure red than the most famous red gems, Pigeon Blood rubies. Auxiliary hues like black, brown, or purple were not noticeable.

If one mistook these gems for rubies, one wouldn’t assign them high value.

“These are red diamonds. For this weight, they are worthy of being counted on one hand among those discovered so far.”

However, red diamonds are the rarest color of diamonds. As the output is extremely low, the weight is also not large. On Earth, the largest red diamond was 5.11 carats.

Being the rarest gem, the price is also the most expensive. Although one cannot put a uniform price on gems, if one had to calculate, on Earth, 1 carat cost a whopping 1 million dollars.

Considering that 1 carat of colorless diamond is on average about 15,000 dollars, the price difference is enormous.

It was similar in Henia.

A 1-carat red diamond could be estimated at a value of about 40,000 Heni.

If the contaminated 15-carat yellow diamond I purchased had been in an uncontaminated state, I would have had to pay about 50,000 Heni to that gambler.

Red diamonds are gems with truly tremendous value.

“You have a good eye.”

“It is a fact any jeweler should naturally know.”

If one had eyes that couldn’t distinguish between red diamonds and rubies, they deserved to quit immediately, whether as a jeweler or a gem cutter.

“Well.”

Although Duchess Mare, who had a history of being deceived into buying citrine as topaz, seemed to think otherwise.

What had to be made with such rare gems were a necklace, bracelet, and ring for the Little Duchess.

Unlike the citrine for which I had to cut the raw stone and imbue a magic circle from scratch, these expensive red diamonds were already cut, and magic was also imbued in them.

One might mistakenly think it would be a much easier task since I only need to do the setting, but Duchess Mare didn’t give me the test of imbuing magic from the beginning for no reason.

“It is a gem imbued with a complex magic circle, but I cannot tell you exactly what magic it is. Also, no matter how much you try to infuse magical power, the magic circle engraved on this gem will not move. Because you are not a ‘Mare.’ You must not only ensure the unknown magic circle remains undamaged but also install an additional circle capable of amplifying the magic’s effect. Is it possible?”

It meant that even without knowing what magic would manifest, I had to accurately read the flow of mana engraved on the gem and set it to amplify it.

Even with the world’s rarest red diamonds in front of me, I was captivated by the news of the King’s Brother’s return and answered knowledge about red diamonds superficially.

Only then did I look down closely at the diamonds scattering bewitching light. And I could reach a conclusion.

“It is possible.”

What expression did Duchess Mare make at my answer? I don’t know if she was satisfied or thought I was impertinent. Either way, the conclusion is the same.

She handed me the red diamonds.

Now the red diamonds were placed on the spacious workbench of my workshop, not the beautiful tea table embossed with roses in the reception room of the Mare ducal residence.

I turned off the light illuminating it.

Although the amount of natural light entering the basement workshop was basically low, I covered even the existing windows with thick curtains. It was to adjust the illuminance according to my will.

In the place where all light disappeared, the red diamonds also lost their fascinating light and were submerged in darkness.

I also closed my eyes. And started mana breathing.

Not long after, particles with a distinct texture different from air were felt clinging to my skin. It was mana. When the sensation, now completely familiar, seeped inside, I opened my eyes.

In the place where all light disappeared, I saw another world.

Could this be called a sight seen with eyes? Sometimes thick, sometimes thin flows of mana were visible. Although color and form were unclear, it definitely existed.

I didn’t try to control this willfully flowing mana. I followed the natural flow.

There was a place where the flow, acting willfully like a mischievous fairy in a fairy tale, showed a particularly regular appearance.

It was clear what was there. The place where the red diamonds were placed.

I inhaled mana deeper.

No matter how brilliant a diamond can scatter light, it cannot shine on its own without a light source.

However, the diamond in front of my eyes began to scatter a red aura like a star emitting light itself. Along the flow of mana moving, the red light also moved together.

The magic engraved on the diamond didn’t manifest. I didn’t even know what magic was engraved. But I could sufficiently know how the mana moved.

Just like I could draw the shape of the cognitive interference magic circle engraved on the necklace worn by the King’s spy exactly as it was, even without knowing it was a cognitive interference magic circle.

After completely recognizing the flow of mana, I turned on the light. I returned from the fantastic space that existed just a moment ago to my extremely realistic workshop.

Tools perfectly fitted to my body type and habits, like the polisher, furnace, and hammer, looked new.

It truly felt like waking up from magic. Perhaps I had dreamed for a moment.

Neither the King’s Brother who taught me magic nor the literature I read to study magic circles explained seeing mana with eyes. What I thought I saw might have been just a mirage, my wish.

But looking down at the diamond scattering red radiance on the workbench, the fantasy revived vividly again. In my head.

At the same time, I also knew how to set the auxiliary stones.

“Isn’t it a war that lasted much longer than expected? As it is an occasion to commemorate the victory confirmed only after over 3 years, all royal members with succession rights must attend without fail.”

It wasn’t for nothing that she demanded confidentiality about the victory ceremony from me. In the King’s Brother’s letter that arrived the day before yesterday, I couldn’t find any content about his return.

I can understand that the King’s Brother couldn’t convey news in a letter that takes a long time to travel and even gets censored.

But the fact that Philip, the King’s Brother’s ear, informed me about the victory ceremony three days after I visited the Mare ducal residence was suggestive. That the discussion about the victory ceremony took place very secretly, and that Duchess Mare responded very quickly.

As she said, the fact of winning a war dragged on for over 3 years could be a great achievement for the King.

As such, the victory ceremony was an event that naturally had to be held. Discussing it secretly meant the King’s Brother played a leading role in the victory. If it were the opposite, the King wouldn’t need to be this careful.

He would have promoted it enormously through newspapers like before the war started, no, even more so.

However, during that time, newspapers only carried articles with nuances that the war was consumptive, saying prices rose or there were no people to work in factories.

Even when the return ship carrying a lot of mercenaries from the New Continent arrived at the port early this morning, let alone issuing an extra edition, even regular publications didn’t convey the news properly.

The person who informed me that the return ship arrived was Sammy.

Over the past few years, prices of daily necessities like wheat, meat, and clothing, as well as precious metals, rose insanely, and I taught children, who had more days without eating than days with eating, how to eat scaleless fish.

Just as I did in the past. Those kids also showed strong repulsion at the words eel or octopus like other people in Henia at first, but soon started going out to the port.

Because they couldn’t starve to death.

Even these days when prices are stabilizing little by little, children were going out to the port regularly.

Because they learned there are many things they can do with money saved on food.

The children said last winter was the first time they could sleep without worrying about freezing to death.

So the children went out to the port at dawn before sunrise, and could discover there. Mercenaries filled with the joy of returning home.

“He said their disappointment was evident upon confirming there was no one to welcome them.”

Sammy reporting to me had a frowning face.

Not because he disapproved of the mercenaries being noisy among themselves in the still dark dawn, but because he seemed unable to believe the fact itself that they won the war.

“Some seemed to return home, but the majority headed to the back alleys. Looking for pubs.”

It was common in history for soldiers returning alive from the front lines not to be welcomed and to degenerate into social nuisances. Still, pretending not to know even the fact that they won was never a common thing.

“They forcibly tore open the door of a pub that was practically closed due to poor business and entered, then shouted as if wailing before drinking the first glass.”

Compared to all people living here in Noberten, Henia, the number of those returning after being treated as consumables at the bottom of the hierarchy would be few.

There might be few people paying attention to them who couldn’t be called sound members of society originally either.

“We came back alive, you fuckers!”

Mimicking the mercenaries’ curse words, Sammy made a troubled expression. However, when saying the following words, his face changed to a proud one.

“That we can swallow liquor properly here is all thanks to this person. Everyone knows, right? Your Highness.”

Following the leader’s chant, the mercenaries reportedly shouted “Long live” all together.