The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 35.

“What is this?”
“Wasn’t there something you asked of me?”
“…Don’t tell me it’s the Laboratory Key?”
“I’ll admit it’s a bit overdue.”
What is this.
I’d been so caught up I’d forgotten about it myself.
This is actually touching.
“I’ve already stocked the laboratory with materials. Feel free to request anything else you need.”
What’s gotten into him.
Suddenly showering me with favors like this.
Though I can no longer create the Elixir I’d originally aimed for—having exhausted the Ilraune—even without being able to pursue grand research immediately, the laboratory’s existence held genuine meaning.
More than anything, I could finally escape Kaieus’s office legitimately, which meant freedom from eating humble pie.
Sorrows of yesterday, farewell.
I was finally independent.
“So where exactly is this laboratory of mine?”
“Right, let me show you.”
What on earth had gotten into him.
He wasn’t even having a servant guide me—he was doing it himself?
Bewildered by Kaieus’s sudden kindness, I decided to simply accept it.
“This way.”
Hmm?
But why that direction.
That’s not the door leading to the corridor.
“Here.”
Kaieus crossed the office and stopped before a door beside the window. It led to a secondary office that doubled as a study.
“…The adjoining room…?”
“Exactly. It’s perfectly suited for you. I’ve had the servants clean it thoroughly.”
Is he joking.
“It connects directly, but you can also enter from the corridor. Oh, and note—that key opens the door from the corridor side. This side has no lock, so keep that in mind.”
“Are you saying this is what you meant by that?”
“Didn’t you say the location didn’t matter?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh, it meant something else?”
Kaieus asked back with infuriating innocence, as if he hadn’t known all along.
Of course he hadn’t.
There was no way this man would suddenly respect my personal space.
I’d dreamed too big.
“Or perhaps you’re not satisfied? If so, I can take back the key immediately….”
“Absolutely not.”
I couldn’t let this slip away from me.
As Kaieus reached out eagerly, I hid the key behind my back to escape him.
Don’t you dare laugh.
This is unbearable.
“I’m delighted to see you so pleased.”
“Of course.”
I’d momentarily forgotten: once a prodigal, always a prodigal.
Just when he’d spoken as if he didn’t intend to kill me for abandoning my duties as his personal mage, here he was—still determined to keep watch.
While I was internally scoffing, Kaieus returned to his desk and handed me a sheet of paper.
“Take this.”
“What is this now.”
“A map from Daemon. He marked the locations where the remaining two Divine Artifacts are likely to appear.”
Just as Kaieus said, the continental map had several red circles drawn across it.
“The thief who stole the Sword of Dominion eight years ago would likely target the remaining Divine Artifacts as well. Of course, it depends on whether they appear first.”
“…Yes, I suppose so.”
He hadn’t mentioned that before.
When had he deduced that.
Well, truthfully, it was logical enough if you thought about it—Divine Artifacts wielded far greater power when all three united than when scattered.
But that wasn’t what surprised me.
One of the locations Daemon had marked was actually quite close to where the Divine Artifacts were predicted to appear.
This man’s instincts are terrifyingly sharp.
So it wasn’t for nothing that he carries the Primordial Holy Knight Bloodline.
“…I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Is there nothing else that troubles you?”
“Not at the moment.”
I gave a vague answer and stuffed the map into my desk drawer.
Of course, I absolutely had to claim the last Divine Artifact that would appear in Lusiphenia, but finding the other one wasn’t my responsibility.
That was the protagonist’s job—Fabian and Leoni’s. I couldn’t steal the protagonist’s role and expect to use it.
Though the original story had veered off course considerably once Charlotte survived, I was at least a writer who knew how to respect the protagonist’s domain.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
“You barely arrived and you’re leaving already?”
“I want to check on where the helmet is. Apparently a craftsman from the ducal city is coming to examine it. Actually, I was heading that way anyway.”
“I’ll come with you.”
Why?
Still unsettled from the incident in the study, I asked with a sidelong look, but Kaieus just shrugged with shameless nonchalance.
At this point, I wasn’t sure if he was watching me or treating me like some sort of lucky charm he needed to keep close.
Either way, he’d laugh it off as my self-consciousness running wild if I said it out loud. I could already picture it.
By the time Kaieus and I reached the back of the Annex, several craftsmen had already gathered.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Well? How does it look?”
“That’s….”
A man squeezed through the crowd of craftsmen and bowed deeply.
“Your Grace the Duke, and honored Mage, I am Caesar, the lead craftsman.”
“Is there a problem?”
“To be frank… this is beyond what our current techniques can work with.”
What are you talking about?
I’m the one who obtained it.
“The Steel Golem Helmet, as you called it—it’s not ordinary steel at all. Its hardness rivals Orichalcum, and its weight seems slightly lighter than Mithril. It’s clearly a rare and exceptional metal. Simply looking at it is wondrous.”
He turned toward the helmet and touched it carefully.
“Regrettably, since this is the first time our craftsmen have encountered such a metal, it will take us years just to determine how to work it. Much of this material would likely be consumed in experimentation.”
“Ah….”
Of course.
I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
With such a specialized metal, the processing technique would have to be equally specialized. At minimum, I’d need to know its melting and freezing points before any work could begin, and even with the helmet’s size, we couldn’t afford to waste material recklessly on experiments.
“Then we have a problem… is there any other way?”
“Perhaps the Dwarves or the Vulcan family might manage it, but…”
“Let me make this clear: no more of the non-human races in my domain.”
Kaieus cut me off before I could even respond.
“Besides, we can’t bring the Dwarves in anyway.”
Those people’s suspicions run deep, and their fees are astronomical. Satisfying a Dwarf’s demands would bankrupt the ducal treasury entirely.
Which left only the Vulcan family….
“This is difficult.”
Vulcan was an ancient smithing clan that had maintained its lineage for millennia—technically commoners by rank, but even nobility deferred to them.
Their skill was said to rival only that of the Dwarves.
The problem was that they were closed off in a different way. While the name Vulcan circulated through society, few people had actually met them face-to-face.
Moreover, the Vulcan family had no clear criteria for accepting commissions.
At least the Dwarves would respond to desire, but these people would sneer at you even if the Emperor himself came knocking, if their standards weren’t met.
…Perhaps a potion to brainwash them would work.
“Bad idea!”
“…What?”
“I just heard a devil’s whisper in my mind.”
Get yourself together, Charlotte.
You need to leave your villainess days behind.
How are you supposed to survive in this harsh world with such weak resolve?
“Your Grace the capable Duke of Lusiphenia, might you perhaps have connections somewhere?”
“Only you get more talkative when you need something.”
“I’m just trying to help.”
“Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of such matters either.”
“Ugh.”
I knew it. Our precious Grand Duke is good for nothing but a pretty face and a sharp blade.
But what am I supposed to do? I can’t just leave this helmet we worked so hard to obtain gathering dust.
“Hmm? Vulcan?”
That’s when Eden popped up from nowhere and thrust his head forward.
“I’ve seen it.”
“…You have? Where?”
“Where? Are you stupid?”
Eden snorted and pointed directly at the Brooch fastened to my chest.
“It’s written right there on the back of this Brooch. Vulcan.”
…What?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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