Free Web NovelChapter 12: Device named Vibrator
The colours of Duke Alfric’s face had been drained as his eyes counted the number of zeroes on the bill he just received.
"He’s just planning to bankrupt the entire duchy?"
He had genuinely believed his troublemaking son was turning over a new leaf. Even had a fatherly pride when Eren started training with the knights and treating everyone with respect.
But looking at this bill for premium-grade mana conduits, raw compression crystals, and specialized engineering arrays, the Duke felt his brain actively shutting down.
"Should I cancel the order, Your Grace?" Emma asked, standing across from him, wearing the formal dress.
She started working as Duke’s temporary assistant, so she can be near to the Duke most of the time. All according to Eren’s plan.
The previous assistant was asked nicely (threatened) to go on a long, well deserving vacation.
The Duke let out a dramatic sigh.
"It is fine, Emma. Authorize the funds. Send them the check. As long as he is staying inside the estate and not causing trouble for other people, I will gladly pay for whatever strange hobbies he has picked up. It is a cheap price for peace."
Emma instantly stiffened at the word trouble.
Of course, he already caused trouble to her body that she couldn’t say out loud.
"As your wish, your Grace."
Her cheeks had a touch of pink as she took the ledger from Alfric and strode towards her desk. As she sat there, she looked at the sum on that single bill that could easily fund a luxurious, lifelong retirement package for ten high-ranking knights.
But it wasn’t just the numbers that were making her blood boil. Rumors say that he had been making frequent visits to the manor library to meet the new librarian girl.
’Is he doing the exact same things to her?’
The thought made her grip tightened around parchment in her hand.
"What the hell is that prick actually doing?" she mumbled fiercely under her breath, her eyes burning holes into the paper.
***
Meanwhile, halfway across the estate in a secluded workshop, Eren let out a loud, aggressive sneeze.
"Ugh. Did you catch some kind of sick disease?"
A few feet away on her work bench, Norelia leaned back against like he was carrying a highly contagious plague. Red eyes narrowing at pure disgust.
"Calm down, Miss Librarian. Maybe it’s just someone thinking about me very hard."
The petite girl rolled her red eyes, entirely unimpressed. "Knowing your infamous stalking reputation, they might be cursing you. I’d be doing the same if I weren’t contractually obligated to be here."
Eren chuckled, entirely unfazed by her unfunny comment. The new workshop is filled with heavy wooden crates, and unopened boxes containing the absolute highest tier of magical components.
"Leaving my terrible reputation aside. Are the delivered items enough for you? I made sure to buy everything exactly to your specifications."
Norelia looked around the newly furnished workshop, a rare trace of genuine awe showing across her petite face before she quickly hid it with a lazy shrug.
"It’s more than enough," she muttered lazily, concentrating on her work. "Honestly, I didn’t expect you to actually buy all of this. You practically bought out an entire alchemy supplier and built a state-of-the-art workshop overnight just for this."
Eren shrugged, stretching his arms after a long work. "I thought it’s better to have every single quality tool available if we’re going to complete this project quickly. Time is a resource we can’t buy back."
Norelia narrowed her red eyes at him with a deep suspicious glare. Like he’s some kind of pyramid schemer. This guy just entered her life at the worst time possible and disturbed her long planned peaceful life by making her work. She honestly believed it’s better if he demanded something than working.
She made an exhausted sigh and looked at the blue print laid our there. "Why are you soo fixated on this project?" She mumbled, slumping back into her chair, tapping a finger on the table. "It’s because if it’s successful, it could bring you fortunes?
"No," Eren’s response came quickly, eye fixed on the framework soldering. "I didn’t plan to commercialize this device."
Noreila didn’t take that word. "Then it’s because you wanted to impress the Duke? To get his appreciation for your line of succession to be the next lord? Or... it’s you just want to go back to the Royal Academy to resume stalking the Saintess candidate?"
Eren let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. Or course, he wants to return to the academy as quickly as possible to see his special someone and admire her from afar.
But...
"Well, I won’t deny there’s a part of my own selfishness to make this device," Eren mummered, looking up to Norelia’s eyes, his tone softening. "But I also want Liora to have a life. I can’t imagine a person losing their entire time in eternal slumber... while the people who love them are doing everything they can just to see her walking again."
Norelia’s red gaze stayed on his face more than needed, thinking he might be using sister emotions as an excuse. But all she found was a sincerity that didn’t belong on a villain’s face.
She let out a defeated sigh.
"I’m... sorry."
"Don’t sweat it, Miss Librarian," Eren said smoothly, resuming his work and also noreila went back to her work,
It was absolute, awkward silence between them for hours before Eren decided to speak up again.
"I need something from you. are you up for another small side-project?"
"Absolutely not," Norelia shot back instantly. "My contract is strictly for this device. The moment your sister is cured, I am returning to my library to do absolutely nothing for the rest of my natural life."
"Are you sure about that?" Eren said, sliding a new parchment across the table. "Just take a look."
Norelia groaned dramatically, but curiosity took over and unrolled the blueprint with a tiny pout, her eyes started scanning.
"This... captures a live visual image, encodes it into raw magical data, stores it within a localized crystal, and projects the dynamic scenery back?" she whispered. She looked up at him, genuinely impressed.
"This is an incredible concept. It would revolutionize communication and recording across the empire."
She rolled the parchment back up and pushed it away, slumping into her chair like a deflated balloon.
"But still, no. I refuse. I am going back to my lazy lifestyle the exact second this two-week deadline hits."
"Ah, yes. Your peaceful, lazy lifestyle that you spent in the hidden corners of the library, enthusiastically reading about some suspicious—"
"Shut up! Shut up right now!" Norelia squeaked, her face exploding into a fiery red. "I told you to never bring that up again!"
Eren laughed, raising his hands in mock surrender. He never comes unprepared.
"Fine. I guess I have no other choice. I was going to keep this a secret, but... I’ll give you this blueprint too if you agree to help me."
"I told you, even if it’s all wonder, it’s not gonna convince me to work—"
Norelia’s voice died in her throat as Eren pulled another separate blueprint and unfurled it directly under her nose.
She leaned forward, expecting another complex piece.
Instead, her eyes widened like they were gonna pop up and her entire face turned red.
The blueprint was an incredibly detailed, handheld wand-like thing with a highly specialized, low-vibration mechanic called device ’Vibrator.’
