Chapter 56: Preparing for the Prince’s Return.

“Commander-in-Chief!”

“Hooray!”

One toast for one cheer.

As the cheers continued several times, the mercenaries reportedly got drunk quickly.

Having worked at Billy’s pub, I knew that once they reached that state, the words coming out of their mouths would become utterly unintelligible.

Sammy looked apologetic for not getting the exact details, but the praise that preceded was already enough.

Even if they were just blabbering drunks, if everyone told the same story, believers were bound to emerge.

Like that, the story would spread.

From the lowly mercenaries to the people in the back alleys who sell them liquor. To the Betas who considered war someone else’s story but had to live painfully due to murderous prices.

And finally, to the nobles.

This is natural. And with some added effort, the spreading speed will become even faster.

It is impossible for the King to silence everyone. So eventually, everyone will come to know. That the merit of victory lies with the King’s Brother, Philius.

Duchess Mare said all royal members with succession rights.

In other words, one can see that the King’s Brother, who has no succession rights, is being excluded, but can a victory ceremony without him be held properly?

I cannot decide whether the King’s Brother attends the victory ceremony or not.

But if he decides to attend himself, I just hope he remains safe even in that place. So I had to prepare.

Fortunately, I had good material. More precisely, material that will become good.

If I purify the contamination of the yellow diamond sold to me by the druggie gambler and resell it, I was confident I could really get more than 50,000 for it.

The difference between the purchase price and the selling price would be over 49,740 Heni, and the King’s Brother, the real owner of this shop, will undoubtedly acknowledge that amount as my incentive. As he has done so far.

But something I wanted to make with that yellow diamond arose.

Tap. Tap.

I stopped my index finger that had been tapping on the workbench without my realization.

First, I should finish those red diamonds.

As I organized my thoughts, ideas I had momentarily forgotten came to mind as if urging me.

It seems I’ll have to stay up all night for a few days. Although the ample schedule turned tight, well, I didn’t feel bad.

Honestly speaking, I felt it was quite fun.

The plan to engrave the ‘magic circle for distortion by pheromones and blocking detection’ seen on the necklace the King sent hanging around the spy’s neck onto an accessory that will belong to the King’s Brother.

Will the King be able to notice the magic manifested, just like the King’s Brother did?

I know the answer. That he won’t be able to.

Because the magic circle I intend to engrave is the one improved by the King’s Brother.

****

Knock knock.

I opened my eyes at the knocking sound, but my vision was still only dark.

‘Am I still sleeping?’

The boundary between dream and reality was unclear.

Knock knock.

Only after hearing the knocking sound again did I remember.

The fact that I fell asleep in the workshop with all external light blocked.

I fumbled and turned on the light. As bright light poured in enough to sting my eyes, the sleepiness that clung stickily seemed to barely disappear.

“Manager, are you there?”

Only after recognizing Nathan’s voice did the thought occur that I should check the time.

Crazy.

Only now did I truly wake up.

The time to open the shop had already passed.

If I hadn’t given a key to Nathan, I would have been sprawled out with the shop closed. Pathetically.

“Manager?”

“I’m here. Wait a moment.”

Trying to get up from my seat, I almost lay down again momentarily. I frowned at the ringing tinnitus of beeeeep.

Still, the short tinnitus soon disappeared. I clenched and unclenched my fist to check if strength entered my hand.

Only then did I get up again and walk to the door.

It was ridiculous even to myself walking carefully in the workshop, where tools were arranged according to my movement path originally, and where I could walk around even after turning off all lights having become completely accustomed to it by staying throughout the past few days, afraid I might bump into something.

“Sorry. I overslept. Thanks for opening the shop door.”

Giving the key to Nathan was strictly for emergency use. Opening and closing the door of this jewelry shop was my job.

“Manager, are you okay? No, actually you don’t look okay at all.”

As I tied up my hair that was messed up and covering my face, Nathan, who was sniffing his nose shyly at my words of thanks, opened his eyes wide.

“I’m okay. I just had a strange dream.”

“What kind of dream did you have?”

“What dream was it… I can’t remember.”

Right after opening my eyes, I felt like I had a very unpleasant dream. But now, completely awake, I don’t remember what dream it was at all.

“Uh, didn’t you overwork yourself too much? You haven’t even gone home for the past few days and lived in the workshop.”

“What overwork.”

Just staying up a few nights can’t be called overwork.

When running the jewelry shop in Jongno, sleeping in batches was a habit.

Now I am physically even younger than then, and moreover, I could do mana breathing that recovers energy even with less sleep.

Working on the request from Duchess Mare, I had to do mana breathing frequently to adjust the setting precisely according to the flow of mana.

It was rather strange that I fell asleep passing the opening time when I intended to rest briefly after finishing the work.

“Let’s go up. Gotta work.”

Yes, I finished it. It was a work that followed all the client’s demands and fulfilled professional duty.

And now, it was time to do work where the owner is decided but free from constraints.

For a jewelry setter who has to strictly adhere to customer demands and budget limits as much as handling expensive materials, it was a very precious opportunity.

I felt strength returning to my fingertips.

“Uh… yes. You really, seem okay.”

Nathan, who had a worried expression, nodded with a bewildered face.

I chuckled.

The unpleasant feeling I felt the moment I woke up had disappeared before I knew it.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go home today?”

When I prepared to go down to the workshop after work, Nathan scratched his head and said.

“There is work I must do.”

“Uh…”

His blinking eyes looked troubled for some reason.

“Do I perhaps have to stay too?”

I ended up laughing. Indeed, if the manager lives in the shop for days, it would be noticeable. I think I was wrong, but I had no intention of heading home either.

Even calling it home, it wasn’t much different from the bed placed in a corner of the workshop. Even more so since I equipped a bathroom where I can shower simply.

Since I am no longer the King’s Brother’s servant, I had to leave the mansion. Although a letter came from him saying I could continue staying at the mansion, that was after I had already arranged my own house.

To be precise, I decided the timing to leave the mansion and find my house considering the speed of letters coming and going.

It’s not a picturesque house on that green hill. Just a small single-story house in a neighborhood where Betas earning enough to live gather.

There was no choice. Leaving aside the fact that land prices in Noberten are enormous, the areas where Betas can live without worrying much about security were fixed.

Inevitably, it had to be a place far from Pistoga, the high-end commercial district where jewelry shops are gathered.

Going home and coming back when even sleeping time is precious like now was just a waste of time. But Nathan didn’t need to stay. Honestly speaking, him staying was rather annoying.

“Don’t worry and go back.”

It was said sincerely, but Nathan, who has become noticeably diligent these days, couldn’t turn his steps.

“Take this. Buy some meat to feed the kids before the butcher shop closes and go back.”

When I offered a 1-Heni gold coin, Nathan’s eyes seemed to flash.

Sammy was taking quite a bit of money as information fees these days.

But the guy, having found fun in saving money, was extremely reluctant to spend money on eating since there were substitutes like eel and octopus.

Nathan, still living with Sammy, also had to make eel and octopus his staple food.

Nathan, who often frowned asking “Do I smell fishy?”, would make a very happy expression when the shop provided meat for lunch.

It’s natural for the switch to turn on at the words ‘money to buy meat.’

“Uh, but, I wonder if it’s okay for me to accept this money…”

Seeing him bring up words of modesty while twitching his fingers, I couldn’t see the past when he was once a pickpocket. I felt a bit proud.

“You worked diligently all this while. You also opened the shop on behalf of the late manager today. It’s a bonus.”

Only when I brought the gold coin on my palm close to his eyes did he pick it up slowly.

“Th-thank you.”

Hesitating and greeting, Nathan smacked his lips several times as if he had more to say.

“Why, have something to say?”

“That is… just, please don’t, don’t overwork yourself too much.”

“Okay, I won’t overwork and wake up on time to open the door.”

“…Yes. Then see you tomorrow.”

It seems my appearance in the morning was really not good.

Nathan, holding the gold coin tightly in his hand, scraped the floor with his foot or twitched his eyebrows instead of running out the door humming immediately.

“Go now. The butcher shop will close.”

I tapped my watch to let the guy, hesitating even after saying goodbye, know the time. Only then did Nathan step out the door.

Even after closing the glass door installed with expensive money, I saw the guy still lingering, so I told him to go again with the shape of my mouth and locked the door.

After turning on the barrier to reinforce the show window and door made of weak quality glass, I looked outside again, and Nathan’s figure was not visible, perhaps having finally returned.

A bitter smile came out.

I was the one who hired and educated Nathan, but that attitude just now clearly seemed to be Philip’s influence.

Just as Ian acted as my bodyguard without my knowing at the mansion in the past.

And there is only one person who can give such an order to Philip.

Standing in front of the workshop door, I rubbed the corner of my eye.

My trying to process the yellow diamond without the King’s Brother’s consent would be the same thing, eventually.

A chuckle escaped.

So if asked whether I would turn back, go home, and just sleep, I know I won’t.

Holding the doorknob with a hollow laugh, I opened the workshop door after a brief pause.

I immediately unlocked the storage box, took out the yellow diamond, and placed it on the workbench.

It must be an unavoidable occupational disease.

As if forgetting when I was agonizing, I came to think of things I could make with this diamond.

Looking at the bluntly cut facets, my fingers twitched wanting to make it a perfect 58-facet Brilliant cut, and I also wanted to cut it into a 72-facet Asscher cut like I did to add brilliance to the citrine.

But above all, finding light for this diamond that seemed eaten by darkness should be prioritized.

Before finishing the thought, my body moved on its own.

Before I knew it, I was doing mana breathing. Greed also soared to purify that contamination and make it part of my mana.

A fact realized while working on red diamonds: if my mana amount increases, setting while looking at the flow of mana could become much easier.

I reached out as my heart led.

The contaminated mana the yellow diamond held touched my fingertips.

As if waiting, a fantasy covered me.

There I saw. A scene I never even thought possible for me to see.

The King’s Brother much younger than when I first met him stood in the fantasy.

The King’s Brother from the days he resided in the royal palace.