The Yandere villainess loves the useless engineer Chapter 56: Start of Steam engines

The sun slowly erupted from the horizon signalling the start of a new day.

For several quiet monts, I simply laid there half-awake staring blankly ahead while trying to gather my thoughts.

Then I turned slightly onto my side—

And imdiately locked eyes with Lillith.

She was already staring directly at .

Of course she was.

Lillith laid beside with her head resting against her arm while quietly admiring with the sa gentle expression she always had whenever she thought I wasn’t paying attention.

At this point I wasn’t even surprised anymore.

I stared at her silently for several seconds.

"...How long have you been awake?"

Lillith blinked softly.

"I never slept."

Right.

I forgot again.

Or more accurately—

I kept trying to forget because the idea still felt deeply unsettling.

I rubbed my face tiredly.

"You really plan to spend six nights a week just staring at ?"

Lillith smiled faintly.

"I wish it could be seven."

"...That was not comforting."

"It was romantic."

"No it wasn’t."

Lillith ignored completely before gently reaching over and brushing so hair away from my face.

"You move a lot in your sleep."

"...That sounds like information I shouldn’t know you have."

"You also mutter when stressed."

I imdiately frowned.

"I do not."

"You said Finn’s na twice."

"...Why would I say Finn’s na?"

Lillith looked mildly displeased now.

"I’ve been wondering the sa thing."

I sighed heavily before slowly sitting upward.

The mont I moved, Lillith instantly grabbed onto my shirt lightly like she expected to disappear.

"...I’m going to the construction site, not another kingdom."

"Mhm."

"You say that but you’re still holding onto ."

Lillith looked down at her hand like she genuinely hadn’t noticed.

Then instead of letting go—

She tightened her grip slightly.

Eventually after another ten minutes of Lillith refusing to let leave the bed properly, the two of us finally headed toward the construction site.

The morning air felt cool while sunlight poured down across the territory.

As we walked, servants and guards throughout the manor visibly relaxed after seeing outside again.

Apparently my kidnapping had caused enough panic that people still looked relieved every ti they saw I was alive.

That felt strange.

Eventually the large construction site finally ca into view through the trees.

And the second I properly saw it—

I stopped walking entirely.

"...Holy shit."

Seven massive scaled bloories stood near the river now, all connected to multiple rotating waterwheels that continuously turned beside the rushing current.

Smoke slowly rose into the morning sky while workers moved throughout the site carrying ore, charcoal, and materials between stations.

The entire place looked completely different from when I last saw it.

Larger.

Alive.

Industrial.

For several monts I simply stared.

Then suddenly—

A familiar voice called out proudly.

"Pretty impressive right?"

I looked over.

Finn stood near one of the larger waterwheel systems with his hands on his hips looking unbelievably smug.

Honestly—

He looked like he personally invented civilization.

"You actually finished them..."

Finn imdiately puffed his chest out slightly.

"Well obviously."

"You barely understood the sketches."

"I understood enough."

"That is horrifying."

Finn ignored before gesturing dramatically toward the site around us.

"The workers finally adapted."

That honestly surprised more than the furnaces themselves.

The first day had been a complete disaster.

Workers installed support beams backwards, built ventilation channels incorrectly, and sohow nearly flooded part of the foundation trying to redirect water toward the wheels.

At one point, two knights had even managed to accidentally reverse an entire wheel chanism which caused water to spray directly into a furnace instead of powering it.

The resulting explosion of steam nearly killed everyone’s confidence instantly.

But now—

Everything actually worked.

Workers moved between systems confidently while managing the airflow and heat almost entirely on their own.

Finn grinned proudly.

"They know how to run everything properly now."

My excitent imdiately grew further.

That changed everything.

Actual scaled production.

Consistent steel.

Machines.

Infrastructure.

For the first ti since arriving in this world, industrialization no longer felt like so distant dream.

It finally felt possible.

Then suddenly—

Lillith quietly spoke beside .

"...You seem more excited about these than whenever you’re with ."

I blinked.

Then slowly looked toward her.

Lillith stared at the furnaces with mild betrayal in her eyes.

"...Lillith."

"You looked happier seeing those giant fire pits than when you saw this morning."

"That is not true."

"You smiled at the waterwheel."

"...It’s a very good waterwheel."

Lillith stared at blankly.

Honestly—

I thought she might actually destroy the river out of jealousy.

Luckily Finn interrupted before she could spiral further.

"So what’s next?"

That imdiately pulled my attention back toward the site.

I slowly looked across the furnaces again while thoughts raced through my head.

A grin spread across my face.

"We’re heading back to the shack."

Finn blinked.

"...That smile concerns ."

"It should."

Lillith lightly sighed beside .

"Whatever he’s planning probably explodes."

"That is a unfair assumption."

Finn imdiately nodded.

"No it isn’t."

A while later, the three of us finally arrived back at the shack hidden deeper within the forest.

The familiar sight imdiately brought back mories of endless nights working beside furnaces, failed rifle prototypes, ammunition experints, and nearly blowing ourselves up repeatedly.

The place felt nostalgic now.

I headed inside quickly before moving toward one of the larger stacks of sketches resting beside the worktable.

After several monts of searching, I finally pulled out a large rolled parchnt bundle.

Finn imdiately narrowed his eyes.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"That is the exact face you made before inventing guns."

"That’s ridiculous."

"You literally smiled like a villain."

I ignored him completely before spreading the sketches out across the table.

Complex diagrams filled the parchnt.

Pressure systems.

Rotational chanisms.

Pistons.

Boilers.

Valves.

Finn stared down at the drawings silently for several seconds.

Then eventually—

"...I understand less than usual sohow."

"That’s because this one is important."

Lillith anwhile walked over briefly, glanced at the sketches once—

Then imdiately lost interest.

"Whatever it does, I can probably do better."

"That is not the point."

"It usually isn’t."

I pointed toward one of the larger sections of the blueprint.

"This..."

My grin widened slightly.

"...Is a steam engine."

Finn blinked.

"...A what?"

"A machine that converts heat into movent."

Silence.

Finn continued staring blankly.

Then slowly—

"...Those were definitely words."

I rubbed my forehead.

"Alright. Imagine boiling water."

"Okay."

"The steam creates pressure."

"Still following."

"That pressure moves chanical components."

Finn stared at for several more seconds.

"...You lost again."

I sighed heavily before grabbing another sketch.

"Look."

I pointed toward the piston system.

"Steam enters here."

"Pressure builds."

"The piston gets forced upward."

"And that movent can rotate wheels continuously."

Finn looked increasingly horrified the longer I explained.

"...You’re trying trap explosions inside tal again aren’t you?"

"It’s controlled pressure."

"That is exactly what you said before the rifles."

Lillith casually leaned against while completely ignoring the sketches.

I wasn’t even sure she’d listened to a single word.

Instead she rested her chin lightly against my shoulder while quietly watching my face instead.

"...Leo."

"What?"

"You’re doing the excited inventor thing again."

"That is because this is important."

"You started glowing when talking about the weird tal tube."

"It’s not a tube."

Finn looked down at the sketches again cautiously.

"...Will this explode?"

"...Probably not."

"That hesitation was terrifying."

I ignored him again before pointing toward another section of the design.

"If this works properly, we won’t need rivers forever anymore."

That imdiately made Finn pause.

"...Wait."

For the first ti since the explanation began—

He actually looked interested.

"You an these machines could work anywhere?"

Now he understood.

I nodded slowly.

"Exactly."

Silence filled the shack afterward.

Even Lillith glanced slightly back toward the sketches now.

Finn slowly looked back down at the blueprints.

Then toward .

"...Leon."

"What?"

"...That sounds insane."

A grin slowly spread across my face again.

"Now you’re starting to understand."