The young magical engineer who had wiped the chalk dust from his hands slowly stepped backward. He looked at the equations filling the blackboard from a distance and slowly tilted his head. After a mont, he adjusted the circuit on his desk a few tis and made simple notes in his journal. Rising to his feet, he looked around and let out a sigh of unknown number.
"Such an antiquated research environnt."
He shouldn't have co.
If he had been in Finley, he could have at least seen interesting new research, and if he had been in Nine Holder... He twisted his lips upward and left the room, leaving his journal carelessly placed on the desk. Striding through the corridor, he entered a shabby reception room.
The sunlight was so bright that his blonde hair appeared white. As he sank into the faded sofa, circuits and numbers lingered in his mind like afterimages, spinning around.
If he had been in Nine Holder, what would it have been like?
His head simply wouldn't clear completely. This had never happened before—even during research, it felt like sothing was constantly watching him from behind. He couldn't imrse himself peacefully as before. Cider frowned.
"Count."
Just then, Millen's voice ca with a knock. Had he brought the magic stone?
Due to military secrecy, he was half-imprisoned in this mansion and couldn't go out freely. Fortunately, they didn't stop him from sending his servant out, so Millen was doing various errands. Of course, even if he had been free to go out, Millen would have done most of the errands anyway, but this matter was different.
In Sterling lived a refiner who had refined the magic stones that were important components of the 'Golden Claw.' It was unexpected that such an excellent refiner was now doing jewelry work, but fortunately, he wasn't refusing magic stone refining work.
Through Millen, Cider had commissioned work and asked whether magic stones whose functions had been cut through refining could be restored. The answer was as he had expected.
He hadn't expected it, but still felt sowhat deflated.
Ti flowed slowly as if crawling. The commission from the military wasn't sothing that could capture his interest. He hadn't co all the way to Sterling because the commission itself had moved his heart.
Automaton modification was close to chanical work rather than research by its nature, though it took ti. It would probably be finished in two days at most.
"Count."
Millen, who had entered the reception room on his own, called him again. Cider slowly opened his eyes that he had closed. His gray eyes beneath long eyelashes were soaked in boredom.
"I t Miss Esperanza at the workshop."
"...What?"
The unexpected na shattered his boredom in an instant. He thought he had misheard. Though that couldn't be possible.
"She's here?"
He had told her to go to Nine Holder...
'Well, she doesn't have to listen to .'
But why Sterling of all places? Cider gestured toward Millen with his chin as if telling him to say more.
"Yes. Miss Tate and Miss Mabelwood were there, and for so reason, Count Sterling was also present."
Just hearing that peculiar combination was enough to understand what the situation was. Cider closed his eyes again. For the first ti since coming to this mansion, he burst into audible laughter.
Amusingly, he was quite pleased by this unprepared opportunity for a eting. He himself had been the one to flee first, and despite not reaching his original goal of organizing his thoughts and lessening his emotions at all.
With a mysteriously brightened face, Cider looked back at Millen and tilted his head.
"But Millen, why are you alone?"
Even though you t Esperanza.
"Miss..."
As expected, it was the question he had anticipated. Millen dragged out his words a little as if teasing Cider. Cider frowned and glared silently at Millen. Then Millen imdiately provided an answer as if he had never hesitated.
"I gave her my business card, and she said she would visit if invited."
Cider suddenly turned his head to look around the mansion. Though the Osdern navy supposedly ruled the world, a young officer's residence was rely decent enough to maintain appearances. The military had supposedly looked after him, but Cider hadn't lived in such a rat hole since his university days.
'It might be better if she doesn't co.'
But if she wasn't going to co et him, why had Esperanza co all the way to distant Sterling? Setting aside how she knew he was in Sterling.
What was the reason for bringing along the mysteriously irritating Cordelia Mabelwood or that maid who seed to act more like a lover than a servant, Miss Tate? She couldn't possibly not know that Dunbarton was dangerous.
Cider rested his chin on the table and cast his eyes downward. Long eyelash shadows moved slowly across his cheek. Along with the sound of the clock ticking, his thoughts seed to turn slowly clockwise like shing gears.
The power source of machines is the steam engine. Then what was the power source that moved Esperanza? What had brought Esperanza all the way to this distant Dunbarton?
There were several things he could guess.
Though he had beco trapped by his own shallow sche to learn more information and couldn't go out freely, that wouldn't last much longer either.
Given how the situation had developed, it would be difficult for him to achieve his purpose in coming to Dunbarton. In that case, it would be better to help Esperanza achieve her purpose at least.
"Tell her it will be difficult to et for the ti being."
Cider, who finally spoke, said this while taking out clean paper from the nightstand drawer and writing a few lines. After pondering for a mont, he signed it and put the paper in a plain envelope, handing it to Millen.
"I'm behind schedule."
He took out his pocket watch unnecessarily despite being in a room with a grandfather clock, then stood up.
"Buy so letter envelopes."
With those words, Cider returned to his research lab. Millen looked at the letter remaining in his hand and sighed.
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Hair touched by sunset appeared to burn red. Cordelia, who had been reading a book with a small lamp lit, only lifted her eyes slightly to steal a glance at that sight. Esperanza, sitting in a slovenly posture on the sofa with her arm propped against the window fra, had been staring blankly outside in that sa position for hours. Until her brown hair turned red, then eventually black.
No wait, was she actually looking at sothing?
Esperanza had been in that state ever since returning from the workshop. She had barely touched her dinner. It was a shellfish dish by a chef from Durant no less! Cordelia clicked her tongue in regret while recalling today's wonderful dinner.
Annie, who had been creating fantastic lace with quick hands beside her, also seed continuously concerned as she blankly stared at the toes tapping under the white dress hem and the head that remained completely still while deeply bowed. Even while doing so, her hands moved tirelessly like a machine, weaving a span of lace. What an amazing young lady.
'Hmm. Miss Tate seems to just be watching too.'
While Cordelia was tilting her head, Annie, who had put down the lace she was making, stood up.
"Miss, shall I brush your hair?"
Esperanza, who had been fixing her gaze outside the window, only turned her head to look back. After hesitating, she slowly nodded. Annie brought a brush and carefully combed Esperanza's hair from the ends. Curly hair was troubleso to brush, though it was beautiful and lovely without much additional care. But sohow Esperanza's hair was soft as cotton and smooth as silk from the beginning. Annie even humd as she slid the brush through the strands.
"You've looked like you're in a bad mood since earlier."
"It's not exactly that. Just, I have things to think about."
eting Millen at that workshop was definitely a coincidence. Millen said that when this jeweler worked as a magic stone refiner, Cider's father had sought him out and connected them, and they had done several research projects together since then. If there was such a connection, it would be reasonable to send a servant to greet him even if he couldn't go himself.
In other words, Cider had co to Sterling without knowing Esperanza was here.
'But why?'
That was exactly the problem. Cider also knew that Daria had gotten the Paolun pirates in her hands. He had known much earlier than Esperanza that sea routes were blockaded because of them. In such a situation, he couldn't possibly not know that Sterling, a port city, would be dangerous, so why had he co all the way here?
Daria's thod was obvious. Whether she had swept away or kidnapped rchant ships in a way the Osdern side couldn't even guess, either way, she would have blown away even the evidence so it couldn't be found. There was no way Cider couldn't have deduced the possibility of a dungeon occurring here.
He said it was a naval commission, but couldn't he just not accept such things? Originally, it should have been the period when the magical engineering conference was scheduled. Cider would obviously have preferred the conference in Finley. But why, why had he co to Sterling? She couldn't even guess.
'Is he fine with dying, or what.'
Esperanza pressed her lips tightly together. If that really was the case... she even felt betrayed. Though if asked whether she had the right to feel such emotions, she would have nothing to say.
'But I'm still here. How can he think such things?'
Probably not. But once she was caught in negative thoughts, no other possibilities ca to mind. That's why, even knowing she was ruining the atmosphere, she simply couldn't act normally.
Though she appeared to be just a bit dazed but functioning normally, Esperanza's mind was a complete ss.
If he really ca here with such thoughts, if that was the case... what should she do? No. What could she possibly do?
When Millen naturally offered the address and ntioned Cider's rest ti, the reason she didn't go with him was that she didn't feel like she could face Cider who might have co to Sterling with such thoughts. Anxiety penetrated her spine with a chill.
'What do I do now?'
Her thoughts bounced back as if hitting a wall. Letting out a deep sigh for the umpteenth ti, she turned her gaze beyond the window. Guessing Cider's psychology was impossible anyway. No matter how much she thought, worried, and reasoned, it was a problem she couldn't verify.
What should she do now?
Given how the situation had developed, hoping that everything would return to the past that Cyrus knew was being too greedy. If Esperanza directly intervened to solve this dungeon anyway, everything would beco different from that ti. But she couldn't let people die just to gain an advantage in the fight against Daria.
So in the end, the advantage of coming from the future could be utilized until this dungeon.
'Then I should make maximum use of it.'
First, she needed to find where Daria and Cyrus were and what they were doing. And Cider needed to be sent away from Sterling as soon as he finished making that damn automaton. As quickly as possible. But to do that, she would have to et Cider at least once.
"Uuuugh..."
"Oh, Miss, what's wrong?"
Annie, who had finished brushing her hair and was secretly trying to attach a pretty ribbon, jumped back in surprise.
"No, it's nothing."
Esperanza slumped again. Annie and Cordelia's gazes t. Instead of words, eyes filled with awkward expressions were exchanged. Then, the bell beside the door rang.
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