Chapter 11
“Danger…!”
Penelope’s eyes widened as she quickly leaned out the window.
Ahwin looked back at her as his dark blue robe fluttered in the wind.
Are you crazy?! There’s nothing beneath you!
Penelope looked down, and her heart nearly stopped.
Ahwin’s feet were floating in midair.
A powerful gust of wind rose from below, blowing his dull blond hair back.
For the first time…
His face was completely revealed.
The wind was so strong that Penelope had to shut her eyes.
When she opened them again…
Ahwin was calmly flying through the sky toward the castle wall.
He had cast a flying spell…
Without chanting a single word.
“…Ha.”
At last, Penelope frowned deeply.
Damn… he’s been hiding his true strength.
No wonder he spoke so arrogantly.
He had to be a high-ranking mage who concealed his abilities.
Penelope started counting all the mages capable of using flight magic.
Then she stopped herself.
It doesn’t really matter.
After all…
He was just an eccentric mage who would leave once winter ended.
As long as he properly installed the Magic Stone Barrier…
His true identity didn’t matter.
Penelope lowered her head and returned to her paperwork.
Ahwin easily flew over the castle wall and headed toward the border of the estate.
Soon…
A crude barricade made of thorny bushes and trees came into view.
Beside it stood a small watchtower that the knights of Halo Estate had built to watch for monsters.
“This place is unbelievably poor.”
Ahwin clicked his tongue as he landed silently on the ground.
No matter where he looked…
Halo Estate was filled with signs of poverty.
I have to spend the whole winter in a place like this…
The more I think about it…
The more I want to strangle Rector.
Should I just leave after finishing my work?
No one can force me to stay if I decide to break the contract.
The problem was…
Even if he left…
He had nowhere else to go.
If he returned to the Magic Tower…
He would only find more mages like Rector who refused to leave him alone.
“I spoiled those mages too much.”
If I had known things would turn out like this…
I would’ve crushed their confidence from the beginning.
Now they don’t even listen when I get angry.
Ahwin lightly tapped the ground with his foot.
Boom.
A streak of pure white light spread outward from where he stood.
The light formed a circle.
The circle became a magic circle filled with countless complex formulas.
“The Magic Stone should go here.”
Ahwin casually tossed a Magic Stone into the center.
The barrier immediately absorbed it.
A brilliant light burst out.
“Next…”
“Ahem…”
After clearing his throat, Ahwin began chanting.
His chant sounded like the song of a siren.
A voice that could enchant anyone who heard it.
Finally…
The barrier overflowed with pure mana.
Its color slowly changed into a deep blue before sinking into the ground.
A Magic Stone Barrier…
One that would normally take an ordinary mage an entire month to complete…
Had been finished in only a few moments.
The overwhelming power made the entire forest fall silent.
“Green Herb tea helps recover from fatigue?”
“How did that woman even think of something like that?”
Suddenly…
A fierce wind swept through the forest.
It was the aftershock of his magic.
His long blond hair was blown away once more.
His face was fully revealed again.
Long, graceful eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.
Beneath them…
His pale green eyes shone like precious jewels.
His narrow eyes…
High nose…
And full red lips…
Together created a beauty that could easily enchant people.
It was a face…
Too beautiful to belong in this world.
“Strange…”
Ahwin quietly muttered to himself.
“What’s even stranger…”
“Is that I don’t know what feels so strange.”
As the wind died down…
His long hair fell back over his face.
Once again…
He looked like the same gloomy mage.
Even someone with otherworldly beauty couldn’t escape an awkward hairstyle.
“I’ll understand eventually…”
Ahwin brushed his long hair back with one hand.
“If I can just get through this stage…”
“It’ll finally be long enough.”
Lately…
He had become much less patient than before.
That afternoon…
Two dwarves arrived at the Lord’s Castle.
The Chief Steward had hired them through the local blacksmith.
They were short and strongly built.
Their thick beards were neatly braided and tied with colorful ribbons.
One look was enough.
Penelope immediately knew they were dwarves.
The moment they saw the blueprint after Ahwin had finished improving it…
Both dwarves gasped.
“What in the world…”
“Who drew a blueprint like this?”
“If it’s built exactly as shown…”
“It’ll definitely become an incredible invention!”
Penelope tried very hard not to stare at the ribbons hanging from their beards.
Instead, she asked,
“Do you think it’s possible to make the pipes that go beneath the floor?”
“We’ll need to test several different materials first…”
“But it should definitely be possible.”
The two dwarves and the two humans gathered together and continued discussing the project.
Even while talking…
The dwarves couldn’t stop praising the person who had designed it.
“I’m amazed no one thought of this before!”
“It’s unbelievable.”
“It’ll cost far less than existing heating systems.”
“If we use this same idea…”
“We could even heat the water with firewood instead of Magic Stones.”
“It would be much more efficient than an ordinary fireplace.”
They had even considered people who couldn’t afford Magic Stones.
Penelope had thought the same thing.
A boiler fueled by firewood would probably become much more common than one powered by Magic Stones.
Even low-grade Magic Stones were expensive for ordinary people.
“The same heated water used for warming the house can also be used in the bathroom.”
“If this blueprint can really be built…”
“It’ll become a revolutionary invention.”
The compliments continued one after another.
For a brief moment…
Penelope’s conscience hurt.
But she shamelessly kept quiet.
Then Ahwin interrupted.
“I redesigned all of the magical engineering parts.”
“Mage, you’re amazing as well.”
“You must be a genius.”
“That’s right.”
“…Indeed.”
When the dwarves praised him too…
Ahwin suddenly became awkwardly silent.
Now that everyone was openly complimenting him…
He almost seemed embarrassed.
He’s really stubborn.
But things are progressing much faster than I expected.
It was a wonderful start.
If the people of the estate could spend the winter in warmth with only a small amount of money…
They would be overjoyed.
And if Penelope also earned plenty of money because of it…
That would be even better.
A win for everyone.
“I’ll prepare an empty house inside the Lord’s Castle.”
“You may use it for your experiments.”
Penelope looked toward the Chief Steward.
He respectfully bowed.
“As you command.”
“Then…”
“Let’s end today’s meeting here.”
Penelope stood up.
Almost at the same time…
Ahwin stood up as well.
She glanced at him before walking away.
Pretending to look out the window…
Ahwin quietly followed after her.
…I’m just going to the bathroom.
Why does he keep following me?
In the end…
She couldn’t help asking.
“Where are you going?”
“Oh…”
“Nowhere, really.”
“I’m just seeing you off.”
“I still need to talk with those two.”
“I see.”
Penelope looked at him awkwardly.
She was simply waiting for the right moment to excuse herself.
Ahwin scratched the back of his head.
He secretly glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
His pale green eyes appeared and disappeared behind his messy blond bangs.
He’d actually look handsome if he pushed his bangs back.
For some reason…
Penelope suddenly felt strangely frustrated.
“S-So…”
At that moment…
Ahwin suddenly raised his voice…
Then immediately shut his mouth.
His ears and the back of his neck had already turned bright red.
Penelope patiently waited.
“It’s about what happened before.”
“I mean…”
“I really didn’t know.”
Ahwin bit his lower lip hard.
Penelope looked confused for a moment.
She couldn’t immediately remember what he meant.
What happened before?
Wait…
Oh…
Only after thinking for a while did she answer.
“Are you talking about Baron Halo?”
“It was unfortunate…”
“But if that’s what you’re apologizing for…”
“I’m fine.”
“You really don’t need to worry.”
“I’m fine. You really don’t need to worry.”
“…”
Ahwin’s lips slowly parted.
It was as though…
He had just encountered a completely unknown creature.
He stared at her for a long time.
Then suddenly turned his head away.
Well…
Anyone would be heartbroken after losing their husband.
She probably just doesn’t want to talk about it with me.
For once…
Ahwin quietly reflected on his own mistake.
When he fell silent…
Penelope also began to feel a little awkward.
