Chapter 52

With such a massive body, sighing as if the ground might sink, how could one not pay attention even if they wanted to ignore it?

“Haaaa.”

As Hans sighed,

Bang!

The vein that had bulged in the middle of the blacksmith’s forehead, who had roughly struck down the red-hot iron hammer, became even more prominent.

“Huuuu.”

And another sigh.

Clang!

“Ah, that sound just now was strange…”

At the sound of the iron hammer slipping, Hans, who had been only sighing, raised his head and opened his mouth, but…

Crash!

Before he could finish his words, the iron hammer came flying.

“Gasp!”

As the red-hot iron hammer barely grazed his cheek, Hans swallowed hard, and the blacksmith’s shout flew at him.

“How do you expect work to get done properly when a huge bastard like you is sitting there just sighing!”

The blacksmith, who had shouted fiercely, soon let out a deep sigh and roughly pulled over a nearby chair to sit down.

He jerked his chin towards Hans, who was just blinking.

“What’s the problem?”

“No… there’s no problem…”

“I asked what the problem is.”

Hans tried to brush it off, shaking his head, but under the blacksmith’s threatening urging, he finally opened his mouth.

“…so I got into the place I wanted this time… but I’m too worried.”

Hearing the reason for Hans’s dejection, the blacksmith frowned even more severely than before.

“I had a feeling, but as expected.”

“Huh? What did you say? It’s too noisy around here, I can’t hear well.”

“I said I clearly understand what your worry is.”

The blacksmith stared at Hans for a moment before parting his lips, which were as thick as his brawny forearms.

“The sister you said you wanted to help somehow has taken the first step she wanted, right?”

It seemed like an insincere answer at first glance, but there wasn’t much else he could say.

After all, all one can do is cheer for a sister who has left to achieve what she wanted.

“Well… that’s true, but.”

“I knew you were whining without living up to your size. And that sister of yours…”

The blacksmith stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth.

Looking at Hans anew, the blacksmith frowned as if displeased.

Wasn’t he quite a long-standing acquaintance of that stupid-looking fool?

He had watched from the sidelines even when that guy had fallen to rock bottom and was floundering.

It was probably then…

‘He said he needed a sister.’

‘A sister?’

‘Yes. A sister.’

One day, he suddenly said he had a sister and started ordering this and that.

Seeing that the guy who had been listlessly slouching with a face like a corpse had at least become somewhat human-like, he thought it was fortunate and didn’t properly ask who this ‘sister’ was.

If only he had separated him from that ‘sister’ then, how might things have turned out?

The blacksmith shook his head.

Looking back at the irretrievable past and thinking ‘if only it had been like this or that,’ it seemed he was indeed getting old.

Clicking his tongue, the blacksmith pulled out a day from the past in his fading memories.

‘Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Jane.’

The first meeting with that ‘sister’.

The blacksmith had only awkwardly nodded in front of Jane.

He couldn’t express it with his unrefined perspective, but it was certain that Jane wasn’t the kind of person Hans had been talking about incessantly until then.

‘Please take care of me.’

Jane, who had said that, had pushed Hans forward as if he were a dog she was raising.

Recalling up to that point, the blacksmith’s face crumpled fiercely.

That stupid fool was just smiling stupidly, but whether it was instinct or intuition built from experience, the blacksmith found the ‘sister’, that is, Jane, extremely unsettling.

And long after, at some point, he realized what that sense of discomfort he had felt then was.

“What’s so good about something that seems like a manufactured doll.”

The muttered words that escaped without his knowing were lost in the air, buried under the sound of bellows and hammering.

Since he had only seen how she treated Hans for a very brief moment, thinking she treated him like a dog might be going too far.

In any case, it was starkly different from how dearly Hans cherished that woman.

If that doll-like, creepy woman had caused some kind of accident, he would have separated them even if it meant breaking Hans’s legs.

But after that, Jane was only quiet.

It was only Hans’s mouth that was noisy.

His ears aching on their own, the blacksmith blurted out without smoothing his wrinkled expression.

“Shut up and just tell me what you need today, then get out.”

At that rough rebuke, Hans’s bulging eyes grew misty.

Seeing him, the blacksmith didn’t hold back the curses rising in his throat.

“Are you afraid I’ll appear in your dreams? Can’t you put away that kind of face? You…”

Only after hearing severe curses for quite a while could Hans finally bring up his request.

“I was hoping you could make this kind of device.”

“What’s this?”

“I… no, I have some use for it.”

Hans had started to speak but stopped at the first syllable, though it was clearly a tool for that woman called his sister or whatever, but the blacksmith just snatched the blueprint.

Hans, shrinking his shoulders at that, slowly backed away from the blacksmith.

Just as Hans was about to leave the smithy, the blacksmith stopped him.

“Hans.”

“Huh?”

“This time, there’s a good offer from the southern kingdom. They say if we become directly affiliated with the royal family, they’ll provide unlimited support. They asked me to recommend a few blacksmiths.”

Even a passing peacock would know what would follow.

“It’s too good an opportunity to miss.”

Yes, it was an opportunity others would be scrambling for.

“Not interested.”

Hans shook his head without even considering and just left.

“That stupid bastard.”

Clicking his tongue once more, the blacksmith picked up the blueprint he had left behind.

“How does he draw something so delicate with those stubby fingers, really.”

Although he wasn’t keen on making a tool desired by a woman he disliked, his blacksmith’s soul urged him to create this mysterious machine, so he had no choice but to accept the request.

Anyway, having such unparalleled ability yet all he does is wait on that woman…

Clang!

“It just makes my blood boil, whew.”

Clang, clang!

Along with the steady sound of hammering, the blueprint for Jane’s poison tool that Hans had left behind was fluttering in the bellows.

* * *

Around the time when the smoke rising from the blacksmith street left only a faint trace on the opposite side of the capital, carried by the wind.

A tea party of a renowned count family, said to wield considerable power not in the imperial center but in the borderlands, was in full swing.

“It’s an honor to have you visit us like this, Your Highness.”

Riina also bowed her head slightly in response to the greeting from the heiress of the count family.

“Thank you for the invitation.”

Although it seemed like an insincere response at first glance, the count’s heiress wasn’t offended at all.

Lady Bolshevik wasn’t originally a very affectionate person, and it was only her words that sounded insincere.

Hadn’t that Lady Bolshevik come prepared without the slightest deviation for a mere tea party?

Moreover…

“Lady Bolshevik, you’re still as beautiful as ever even though it’s been a long time since we last met.”

“That vivid red hair matches today’s theme perfectly.”

“As expected, the discerning eye of the lady who has long associated with the Bolshevik family…”

As the young lords and ladies who filled Riina’s vacated spot chattered, if she had intended to disrespect the count’s family, she wouldn’t have attended this gathering at all.

Riina, who had been moving amidst the flood of greetings, flattery, checks, and admiration, paused for a moment.

“Ah.”

And the person who faced Riina let out a short exclamation.

It would have been considered rude even by a passing peacock, but Riina didn’t say anything.

Because the other person was Lione Bartorio.

After the unfortunate accident last time, Lione had sent a sincere letter of apology.

He wanted to apologize in person, but…

‘Can’t you even make an appointment?’

‘No, young master. I’m sorry.’

‘Today too?’

‘I’m sorry. The Bolshevik household isn’t accepting at all.’

All of his requests for an audience sent to the Bolshevik household were rejected.

Moreover, even the apology gifts, which were almost too humble to be called gifts, were firmly refused at the time of the accident.

In the end, all that was left for Lione was a heartfelt letter of apology.

But whether even that had been delivered or not, not even a very short reply had come back.

In such a situation, although it was by chance, to face Riina, the person involved, so blatantly like this, it must be extremely embarrassing from Lione’s perspective.

Riina observed Lione, who was watching her expression with a troubled look, with indifferent eyes.

Although it was by chance, it wasn’t that strange to run into Lione.

Hadn’t she sent word that she would attend, so most people were expected to come out?

There might be people who came to meet the heir of the Bolshevik family, who was almost in seclusion, but it also meant that it was a tea party of a family influential enough for Riina to attend.

Finally, Lione cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“It’s a pleasure to see you, Your Highness.”

Towards Lione, who was paying his respects very politely, very courteously, Riina also nodded slightly.

He didn’t tactlessly bring up the past incident again and just gave a plain greeting, so wasn’t his head working quite well, beyond expectations?

Well, a man called ‘everyone’s lover’ couldn’t be stupid.

If he had been in a completely empty-headed state, there would have been stabbings or major accidents even before such a nickname was attached.

Well… in the end, a major accident did happen.