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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: 7
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The Grand Ducal Castle seemed incredibly vast, but all Mabel had seen so far was a single room.
“This ‘Sleeping Angel’ you see before you, it was created by the great sculptor Michellan, who discovered and sponsored his own unknown talent...”
“And right next to it! This golden shield commemorates the victory of the Battle of Yorke, approximately 100 years ago...”
This was because Dane would take one step, explain for ten minutes, take another step, and explain for another ten minutes.
Of course, Mabel listened to all the explanations while seated in a chair.
A cold lemonade in her hand.
“It would be best to abandon any thoughts of pretending to wander around and breaking precious treasures.”
The chair Dane had brought, after saying that, was incredibly plush.
But still, watching him ramble on for a couple of hours was quite an ordeal.
‘He's a truly enthusiastic docent...’
Noticing the boredom creeping onto Mabel's face, Dane adjusted his glasses.
“Hmm, then let's take a short break here and move to the next room. The next treasure room is even more magnificent.”
“What? More?”
Mabel was horrified, but Dane scoffed.
“Of course. It's impossible for a great Grand Ducal family like this to have only one treasure room.”
It seemed she was thoroughly stuck.
However, true to his word about a break, Dane led Mabel towards the gazebo in the central courtyard.
Then, even before Mabel could sit down, he spoke haltingly, like reading from a textbook.
“Hmm? Here. What. Is. This?”
“...?”
Mabel stiffened in an awkward posture and stared at the table.
On the table lay a few sheets of paper and a fountain pen filled with ink.
“Who. Left. Such. Important. Documents. And. A. Fountain pen. Here?”
He had clearly seen it from a distance as he approached, but Dane acted as if he had just discovered it.
“Whoever. Did this, ahem. I don’t know. But I’ll have to. Give them a good scolding.”
Perhaps embarrassed by his poor acting, Dane's face was flushed.
Mabel didn't know what was going on, but ignoring an adult who was trying so hard wouldn't do!
Mabel decided to play along with Dane's act.
“Is it that important? Then I won't look! I haven't seen anything yet, honestly!”
“No! Don't!”
Dane jumped up.
Mabel, who had been about to cover her eyes with both hands, stared at him with wide eyes.
“Ahem, what I mean is, um... Ah, I'm going to find the person who made such a mistake and give them a good talking-to.”
Dane cleared his throat, pointing alternately at Mabel and the table as he spoke.
“Just sit down for now. It’ll take at least 15 minutes to find the culprit. During that time, you’ll be completely alone. Hmm? Completely alone. Understand?”
“Ah, yes...”
Mabel first sat down in the chair he indicated.
Dane wore a satisfied expression.
“Don't go anywhere; stay right here. If anyone comes, scream. Don't just take food from strangers. Don't follow anyone carelessly. I'll be back in exactly 15 minutes.”
“Yes, yes.”
After giving his stern warnings, Dane promptly left.
Whoosh-
A breeze blew in from afar.
Perhaps due to the high altitude, the wind was cool and strong, even though summer was approaching.
Flutter, flutter...
The 'important documents' Dane had left behind fluttered in the breeze.
Mabel looked around, surveying the central courtyard.
In the distance, she could hear the sound of a fountain splashing and birds chirping.
However, in the beautiful, neatly manicured rose garden, Mabel was entirely alone.
It was as if someone had been notified in advance; not even an ant was stirring.
‘It's probably his plan.’
Mabel stifled a giggle, remembering Dane's retreating figure, hurrying away as if setting up a hidden camera.
How could someone so clumsy possibly become the Grand Duke's aide?
‘Still, if it were an ethics interview, he'd pass immediately.’
It seemed the Grand Ducal family prioritized character above all else when hiring.
There truly were only good people here.
Everyone, even knowing Mabel was from the Ashilonia Family, treated her with sincerity.
Even Dane, despite his apparent disapproval of Mabel, was still considerate because she was a 'child,' wasn't he?
‘They're really good people.’
As Mabel gazed at the central courtyard, her thoughts made her eyes darken.
‘That's why it's even more... upsetting.’
Mabel, knowing the future, also knew what would happen to this Grand Ducal family later on.
The Sub Male Lead was an obstacle to the Male Lead and Female Lead.
Obstacles that prevented the protagonists' happy ending never had a happy ending themselves.
‘But there's nothing I can do.’
She was originally a child who would soon die and be buried.
Even if she survived in the orphanage, how could she possibly intervene in the conflict between the Grand Ducal family and the Ducal family?
Even if she could intervene, how could she possibly help the Sub Male Lead over the Male Lead?
“You're still a child, Mabel. It's dangerous for children to wander outside without a guardian.”
Just as Sigmund said, even if she knew this world was a novel, she was still just a child.
“...No, no.”
Mabel shook her head to dispel the gloomy feelings that kept creeping in.
Her pigtails, neatly tied by Ella, swung back and forth.
“Let's not think about things too far in the future.”
Mabel encouraged herself to tackle the immediate problems one by one.
To do that, she had to solve Dane's 'test' laid out before her.
Those papers, held down by a small paperweight, fluttering in the wind.
‘But aren't these kinds of tests usually given to people who need to prove their usefulness?’
Mabel tilted her head in confusion.
Mabel wasn't really in a position where she needed to prove her usefulness.
The child had been kidnapped and brought to the Grand Ducal Castle in the first place.
‘But maybe I should just take a look?’
With that casual thought, she picked up the paper.
It was then that she realized it looked similar to the documents Sigmund had been examining in the dining room that morning.
“Oh...?”
Among the difficult-to-decipher squiggly letters, she found familiar characters arranged.
There were gaps here and there, but Mabel knew what the arranged characters referred to.
“Is this wrong, or is it because the world is different...?”
With just a few additions, it was clearly the Haber-Bosch process.
“But how do I know this...?”
Tilting her head, Mabel first quickly filled in the blanks with the letters that came to mind.
“That’s right, it is.”
Mabel smiled proudly, having completed the awkward-looking formula.
And...
Behind the central courtyard, hidden behind a large tree, Dane watched this sight, his mouth agape.
‘I-impossible...’
Mabel's writing, viewed through the telescope, was a bit clumsy and hard to discern, but it wasn't mere scribbles.
The child was truly solving the problem!
Dane's knees gave out, unable to stand any longer, and he slowly sank to the ground.
‘She's actually solving our Grand Ducal family's long-standing enigma...?’
He couldn't believe it.
Approximately 100 years ago.
Magic slowly began to disappear in the Greenhurst Empire.
The Greenhurst Empire, once a powerful magical nation that relied on magic for most of its daily life, faced a major crisis.
But then, someone came up with an alternative solution.
It was the Esclid Grand Duke from 100 years ago.
The alternative he proposed was none other than Alchemy.
When magic was prevalent in the world, it was a discipline that everyone neglected, claiming it threatened the position of mages.
However, times changed, years passed, and now Alchemy had become the foundation supporting Greenhurst.
Not magic, which had monopolized wealth only to vanish without a trace.
Furthermore, everyone had high hopes for the current Grand Duke, Sigmund.
For in just three years, he had produced more astonishing results than all the achievements announced over the past 100 years, a truly unparalleled genius.
Perhaps he might even be able to solve the Horned Spirit summoning formula, which no one had deciphered in a century.
Then, the Greenhurst Empire could rise triumphantly, surpassing the Hermetic Nation, which had long enjoyed prosperity through alchemy.
But even Sigmund hadn't been able to easily solve the Horned Spirit summoning formula.
‘But that... that little child is solving it...?’
No, he had to confirm.
Perhaps she had just scribbled nonsense.
‘Yes, that must be it.’
Dane's suspicion of Mabel wasn't solely due to the matter of Sophia.
One of the spies he had recently captured belonged to the Ashilonia Family.
Their tail had been caught too easily, making him suspect there was more to it, and then, coincidentally, Mabel arrived.
Sigmund had merely said he brought a child, without detailed explanation, but Dane believed it was all part of the Ashilonia Family's plan.
The spy was a decoy, and Mabel was the real threat.
An demon like Sophia, in the guise of a cute child.
