☣ Chapter 10 ☣
Most of the blueprint was well-designed and logical.
Except for the parts related to magical engineering.
That was something he, as a mage, could improve himself.
“Why is there a valve here?”
“Oh, it’s for using magically heated water in the bathroom.”
Penelope answered immediately.
The mage looked at her as if she had said something ridiculous.
“Then you’ll have to connect these pipes to the water supply.”
“Would that be difficult?”
“Difficult?”
“Do you really think ‘difficult’ is enough to describe it?”
“You even drew a circulation pump and a heat sensor yourself!”
Ah… so that’s the circulation pump and the heat sensor.
Even Penelope was surprised.
She had simply drawn what she remembered from a documentary.
To be honest, she didn’t know every small detail.
Thinking about it again…
It was even more surprising that the mage had recognized everything at a glance.
As expected… mages are incredibly smart.
Penelope decided to raise her opinion of him.
The mage stared at her with tired eyes.
For some reason, he looked even more exhausted than before.
“How many dwarves are you planning to hire?”
“For now… I was thinking about two.”
The mage let out a groan.
“Are you joking?”
“You need at least ten.”
“I’m sorry, but even hiring two is pushing our budget.”
“The estate simply doesn’t have enough money.”
Penelope answered honestly.
The mage was left speechless.
After all…
The truth could be cruel.
“Damn it!”
“You expect to make me work for only 150,000 gold?”
The mage complained as if he had been tricked into signing a terrible contract.
Penelope quietly waited.
She had already realized that his emotions changed constantly.
After a long while…
The mage slowly collapsed onto the sofa like a melted cat.
“How much is your budget?”
“100,000 gold.”
“500,000.”
“I won’t accept anything less.”
“Please make it 150,000.”
“That’s the most I can spare from the loan I received from the Imperial Bank.”
Once again…
Reality struck him hard.
“Ugh…!”
“Why is everything in this estate so poor?!”
The mage grabbed his hair.
He grumbled to himself for quite some time before suddenly lowering his head.
Then he flipped over the blueprint and began writing all over the back of it.
His emotions changed as violently as an erupting volcano.
Where did that fountain pen even come from?
It had almost looked as though it had appeared out of thin air.
Penelope secretly glanced at what he was writing.
Heat Sensor: ??????
Circulation Pump: Possible
So… at least half of it can be made.
Seeing a little hope, Penelope added,
“If making the sensor is too difficult, we could also make it work manually.”
“The boiler could simply be turned on whenever someone feels the room getting cold.”
“Boiler?”
“So that’s what you call this magical device?”
“Ah… yes.”
“Its proper name is an Ondol Boiler.”
Without realizing it, Penelope had created a strange name by combining Korean and English.
She wanted to keep the word Ondol, so she confidently used it.
The mage didn’t seem to care about the name.
“If it’s operated manually, we can build it much faster.”
“Considering the cost, that’s probably the better option for now.”
The mage quickly regained his confidence.
After all…
Compared to the advanced magical tools that could precisely control indoor temperatures…
A boiler itself worked on a much simpler principle.
It seemed this world, whose technology was roughly at the level of Earth’s First Industrial Revolution, still hadn’t discovered heat sensors.
“So…”
“You’ll help me?”
Only then did Penelope finally ask.
The mage looked at her without saying anything.
His expression seemed to ask,
Why are you only asking that now?
“I just thought…”
“It’s better to make these things clear.”
Penelope said awkwardly.
“…Sigh.”
“Why did I even come all the way here…”
The mage muttered regretfully.
Then he suddenly stood up.
“I’ll think about it.”
He tightly grabbed the blueprint, almost crumpling it, and walked straight out of the office.
Apparently…
The more someone told him to do something…
The less he wanted to do it.
He’s really the stubborn type, isn’t he?
Well…
Time would tell.
At last, Penelope leaned back against the sofa and let out a long sigh.
“I’m exhausted.”
She had only exchanged a few words with the mage.
Yet it felt as though all her energy had been drained.
At first…
She had been afraid of him.
Whenever she met the eyes hidden behind his hair…
A chill instinctively ran down her spine.
When he silently ate the scones…
He had seemed clumsy…
Even a little cute.
But whenever he started asking sharp questions…
He became frightening again.
“He clearly has plenty of weaknesses… yet somehow, he’s still scary.”
It was probably because the mage possessed overwhelming power.
As an ordinary person…
Penelope instinctively feared someone so much stronger than herself.
“Are all mages this stubborn and difficult?”
The Master of the Magic Tower in the original novel had always spoken so sweetly.
It seemed not every mage was like him.
Then again…
Thinking about it carefully…
The Master of the Magic Tower had only been kind to the heroine.
Still…
At least we can build underfloor heating.
That alone was wonderful news for people who had to survive such a cruel winter.
The next morning…
Without even knocking…
The mage suddenly pushed open the office door.
“So.”
“The first thing you’ll do after finishing the blueprint is apply for a patent, right?”
“O-Of course.”
Penelope answered without thinking.
Like a typical mage, he restlessly tapped his foot while spinning his fountain pen between his fingers.
He had barged into her office first thing in the morning…
Just to talk about patents.
He was someone who never allowed others to relax.
Penelope set down the account book she had been reading.
“By the way…”
“What brings you here so early this morning?”
True to the stubborn personality she had already figured out…
The mage answered with something completely unrelated.
“Fine.”
“When it’s finished…”
“I’ll take seventy percent.”
“You take thirty.”
“If you’re willing to take thirty percent, Mage…”
“I’ll consider it.”
Even though she was caught off guard…
Penelope gave the most reasonable answer she could.
As expected…
The mage immediately disagreed.
“Your blueprint is a complete mess!”
“It doesn’t take magical engineering into account at all!”
“Well, of course.”
“I’m not a mage.”
“…Tch!”
The mage bit his lower lip while glaring at her.
Where did this woman even come from?
This suspicious woman had irritated him from the very beginning.
She looked about twenty years old.
Soft baby hairs still covered her cheeks.
Yet her eyes were calm.
She spoke with the manners of an old-fashioned noble.
Even when standing before a mage…
She hardly ever looked flustered.
Just look at those eyes.
Even if she were about to die…
She’d probably close her eyes calmly and say,
“Then I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“By the way, Mage.”
“When are you going to install the Magic Stone Barrier?”
“That’s the most urgent matter.”
Penelope finally asked what had been bothering her.
The mage glanced at the mountain of account books piled on her desk before answering,
“Oh, that…”
“The Magic Stone Barrier only takes about a week.”
“I’ll have it installed before this month ends.”
“So if you’re planning to keep pressuring me about it…”
“Don’t.”
“The lives of the people in the estate depend on it.”
“I’m sure you’ll handle it properly.”
“I’ll trust only you with that.”
“…”
She says she trusts me…
So why do I feel so pressured?
The mage’s eyebrow twitched.
One thing was certain.
She wasn’t someone he could deal with carelessly.
For the first time in a very long while…
The mage felt something close to a competitive spirit.
He looked up at the ceiling.
Then down at the floor.
Finally, he turned toward Penelope.
“Call me Ahwin.”
Penelope glanced at him.
“Then please call me Baroness Halo, Ahwin.”
“Baroness?”
“Where is Baron Halo?”
It was a question filled with sarcasm.
Where was the lord wasting his time…
While his wife worked herself to exhaustion managing the estate?
Penelope answered calmly.
“He passed away.”
“Two months ago.”
“…”
Ahwin immediately fell silent.
A look of regret crossed his face.
Just then…
A maid entered carrying tea.
The moment she heard their conversation…
Her expression turned cold.
He really has no sense at all.
If he had shown even the slightest interest in the estate…
He would have known the lord had already passed away.
Yet he was only asking now.
Unable to endure the maid’s icy glare…
Ahwin quickly stood up.
“O-Oh…”
“The dwarves are arriving this afternoon, right?”
“Ahem.”
“I’ll go take a look around outside the castle for now.”
“Won’t you have breakfast first?”
“I’ll eat when I get back.”
The next moment…
Ahwin jumped straight out the window.
The startled maid let out a loud scream.
