Chapter 63: Where I was allowed to rest.

The footsteps of the King’s Brother were heard from beyond the thin wall.

It was the sound of going up the stairs, which were deliberately covered only with a temporary wall so that footsteps would echo in preparation for any intruder, even though I was the only one who had the key so far.

Soon the sound stopped completely. Only then did I stretch my body and lie on the bed.

“A very powerful barrier.”

The words the King’s Brother said upon seeing the magic circle engraved on the red diamond came to mind.

Duchess Mare didn’t try to hide her ambition from me. It was an obvious fact that her purpose was to inform the King’s Brother of her intention through me.

The King’s Brother whom the King rejects. However, the King’s Brother who is very popular with the majority of the people, and whose popularity increased even more due to the victory in the war. Yet, an existence that cannot interfere with her ambition because he has no succession rights.

I thought she wanted to solidify her daughter’s position. Anyone other than me would have thought so. It was a point when rumors began to spread little by little that it might be impossible for the royal couple to have a direct heir.

I only thought about the next generation.

“This diamond was a gift from the Queen to her Omega son. She cherished him quite a bit, but there is also a story that she gave him what she prepared for her new daughter-in-law because she disapproved of her Alpha son remarrying a recessive Omega against her will. No matter how much she cherished him, he was a son she never thought of making her heir even for a moment.”

The King’s Brother talked about the secret story of the royal family as if talking about people unrelated to him. Maybe that’s why I concentrated more on polishing the yellow diamond.

The red diamond, which he might have inherited through his mother, had now become a means to express Duchess Mare’s ambition. Containing a magic circle that cannot be used unless one is a ‘Mare.’

“Duchess Mare thinks her mother suffered unjust discrimination.”

It seemed Duchess Mare wanted more than just the position of the mother of the future King. If the current King misruled, she seemed ready to bite at any time. Using her daughter as a stepping stone. Seeking the King’s Brother’s help.

“Have you never coveted the throne, Duke?”

At my question, the King’s Brother opened his eyes wide. Then soon let out a light laugh.

“No.”

There was no room for hesitation in the immediate answer.

“Even if you had the right of succession?”

My repeated question could be called downright impertinent.

“If I were young, I might have been greedy. But not now, not at all.”

However, the King’s Brother’s attitude remained unchanged.

“If it’s a position where I have to constantly suspect and keep someone in check, I don’t need it. What I want is much more valuable than that.”

Is what he wants me? Am I such a valuable person?

It was his eyes that ended the suspicion. As if knowing all the questions blooming in my head, he looked at me with unwavering eyes.

Enough to make me really feel that I am a quite valuable person.

The red diamond commissioned by Duchess Mare would have been completed even if it weren’t for me. Although it might not have been made as meticulously as I did, not allowing waste of magical power. Also, even if it weren’t for me, she would have conveyed her intention to the King’s Brother.

To her, I was a tool that could be replaced anytime. I know that too.

And if possible, I also know it’s better for me to become her tool so that her intention is conveyed more directly to the King’s Brother.

Still, I couldn’t help feeling a little hollow. The image of the Little Duchess, who looked very mature for her age, lingered in my mind.

The only next generation of the royal family born in a situation where the King has no heir. Duchess Mare’s method might be the best way to protect that girl. Although she would try not to miss her own ambition either.

However, I cannot help but recall. The expressionless face of the young King’s Brother seen in the fantasy of the contaminated diamond. Him, who had to become the King’s experiment subject due to his outstanding qualities manifested early.

I felt like heat was rising.

I closed my eyes.

I was curious about what kind of good dream the King’s Brother has.

After almost a month of work, I completed the pendant. The result was quite satisfying, but it was much slower than scheduled.

Subsequently, I picked up a 0.1-carat diamond to be put into the chain to be made with a four-prong setting. In this world, diamonds of this small weight are still finished with a single cut, but I worked with a full cut. Even if not due to technical limitations, those who want subtle brilliance might prefer the single cut, but the full cut, emitting more splendid light due to the increase in reflection angles according to the number of facets, was suitable for my design.

“How about taking a break?”

The frame of the chain was already made. Placing diamonds on prongs and setting them isn’t a task that takes much time compared to other processes. It could be finished within one or two hours, and the cravat would be completed when the setting work of the chain is finished. But the King’s Brother’s words stopped my hand.

I have quite fast hands. Since it’s a result of a merchant’s struggle to reduce labor costs somehow, the process wasn’t very beautiful, but having fast hands was worthy of being called my merit.

The reason the King’s Brother’s cravat work took longer than expected wasn’t because the time spent polishing all diamonds myself became long, but because the King’s Brother, capturing that subtle gap when finishing one process and moving to the next, recommended rest to me.

“I saw your hands shaking.”

If it were words forcibly interrupting my concentration, I would have just pretended not to hear. Maybe I would have asked him to leave my workshop as he permitted.

But the King’s Brother accurately captured the moment when my stamina dropped and I needed to rest.

I eventually lowered my hands. Leaning my body against the back of the soft chair, I ended up chuckling. If it were me a month ago, I wouldn’t have even thought of taking such an arrogant posture in front of the King’s Brother.

“Do you like it?”

Nor would I have brought such a high-end chair into the workshop.

“Yes.”

When he first suggested rest, I was stubborn and ruined the crafting of a melee diamond. It was fortunate that it was melee size, but it was a very shameful moment. It was truly embarrassing. It was an appearance a jeweler should absolutely not show to the owner of the accessory being worked on.

After that incident, instead of being uselessly stubborn, I chose to rest quietly. Perhaps due to work requiring much attention, my stamina dropped faster than usual, and the King’s Brother noticed my condition much better than I did myself.

It means he observes me closely to that extent.

“Shall we have a cup of tea?”

Furniture and fixtures, not tools, were filling the workshop little by little, which used to have only tools sparsely in the spacious area. This was also the King’s Brother’s doing. Seeing fixtures increase one by one when coming down after closing the shop was truly like magic.

“How did you bring them in?”

The appearance of the King’s Brother waiting for me sitting in a comfortable chair was enough to mistake the space for a moment. Antique furniture like the tea table set in his bedroom at the mansion suited him naturally. The memory of when Housekeeper Anna covered his bedroom with white cloth came to mind. Also that I thought I wouldn’t see that space, which lost its owner, finding its owner again.

“How about sitting down first?”

A chair for me was also prepared across from him. On the day I woke up in the King’s Brother’s bedroom, I stubbornly refused him offering a chair and sat on the floor.

But the owner of this workshop was me, and he became a guest of this space with my permission. I couldn’t find a reason to refuse the comfortable seat prepared for me anymore.

I also didn’t want to find one forcibly.

As I leaned against the comfortable chair, the King’s Brother made a satisfied expression. I stroked the leaf pattern embossed on the edge of the tea table.

“Surely you didn’t bring them yourself?”

“If you insist on asking, I can say I did it myself.”

It was a subtle answer.

“Did you perhaps use spatial magic?”

Honestly speaking, it was just an attempt at light small talk like asking how the weather was today. I had to empty the shop occasionally for outside business, and it wouldn’t be difficult for the King’s Brother to decorate the workshop in the meantime. There were plenty of people he could use like his limbs with a single word. But he seemed not to have told anyone about this space.

No matter how much magic in this world is a cheat key, not everything was possible. Magic moving objects across space hasn’t secured stability yet. Although derived from communication magic developing rapidly through the war, it would show tremendous ripple effects if stabilized, but it was still at a stage where the failure rate was higher than the success rate.

“Certainly a useful magic.”

But the King’s Brother nodded as if it were trivial.

Fixtures like a work chair, cozy rug, and cushions continued to increase little by little after that. As a result of condoning things placed where they didn’t hinder work movement, the workshop became a much more comfortable resting place than my house located at a considerable distance.

And today, even a teapot and cups appeared.

“Surely you don’t intend to brew tea yourself?”

I ended up scoffing at the appearance of absurd items, but I couldn’t help but be surprised at the sight of the King’s Brother himself filling the pot with water.

“Is it strange?”

Asking if it’s strange is stranger.

“It’s my job.”

“Why?”

“Pardon?”

“Why is it naturally your job?”

Because of status, it was naturally my job. I was about to say so, but I had to shut my mouth soon. If I cite social status as a reason in this space where only he and I are alone, sitting at one table like this couldn’t happen itself.

The sound of boiling water swallowed my silence. The King’s Brother put tea leaves into the teapot and cooled the water in the pot a little by creating a breeze. His hands were skillful as if he had done it several times already.

“This is something I do purely by my own will. You are just accompanying it.”

A fragrant scent rose from the teacup he poured himself and placed in front of me. Chamomile, which stabilizes nerves and induces deep sleep. It’s the tea I used to serve occasionally instead of coffee to the King’s Brother suffering from insomnia.

“Just as you showed me favor, I am just doing the same.”

I swallowed a sip of tea slowly.

Is it just my feeling? I felt my heated head cooling down.