Chapter 70
“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
Elia didn’t press the issue further.
There was no reason to force someone who clearly didn’t want to proceed.
“Your Highness, please focus on the documents. Do you have time to idle?”
“Ah, sorry.”
As Noah quickly began reading the papers again, Elia resumed drawing the blueprints.
Time passed, and before they knew it, it was the next day.
Today was the long-awaited day to meet the master craftsman.
But the person who showed up at the ducal estate was unexpected—because he wasn’t human.
“Is this where the Lady Elia resides?”
He was a dwarf—short, muscular, and unmistakably non-human.
Elia recognized him instantly.
A red beard, a horned helmet, various tools hanging from his belt.
But most striking of all was the gold ring on his finger—a symbol bestowed upon the heir to the dwarf chieftain, and the best blacksmith on the continent.
“No way… Dwarf Bromnic?”
Bromnic blinked as he looked at Elia.
“Elia… Lady Elia?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“You’re smaller than I expected. Nice to meet you. I’m Dwarf Bromnic. I came on request.”
Though taller than Elia by just a head, Bromnic couldn’t be called tall either.
“I heard you wanted golden pillars and statues made. Is that right?”
“Let’s head to the drawing room to talk more.”
Elia never imagined Bromnic would be the one to show up.
He was the heir to the Dwarf Clan’s chieftain and known as the greatest blacksmith alive.
A master who could craft anything.
This was huge.
Elia showed him the blueprints.
“I want to decorate the ducal estate in platinum.”
“Platinum?”
“Yes, I originally planned to use gold, but I think platinum would be better.”
“The material costs won’t be cheap.”
“Don’t worry about that. There’s plenty.”
Her plan was to make the estate more majestic than the Imperial Palace or even the Grand Duke’s mansion—using platinum.
“May I take a closer look at the blueprints?”
“Of course.”
Elia handed them over promptly.
Bromnic stroked his beard as he looked them over.
“Did you draw these yourself?”
“Is there something wrong with them?”
“This area could use a bit more flair.”
He pulled out a pen and, without dipping it in ink, began editing the blueprint.
Elia looked at the pen curiously.
“Is that ink coming out of the pen?”
“Ah, this is what we call a fountain pen. I developed it myself.”
“A fountain pen?”
“Yes, our clan uses it for drawing blueprints.”
Elia’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
“Why are you looking at me like that…?”
“Can you teach me how to make that?”
“What?”
“I feel like this would be a huge hit if we sold it.”
“Sell it?”
“Yes, it’s a total game-changer!”
Bromnic stared at her as if she were joking.
“Don’t tell me humans haven’t invented this yet?”
“You didn’t know?”
“I had no idea.”
“How about we go 50/50 on the profits?”
He came to do a commission but ended up talking business.
“I’ll think about it. I should finish the work you requested first.”
“Ah, right. We can talk more about it later.”
Bromnic thought to himself:
‘What’s with this girl and her money-hungry eyes?’
As a pure craftsman, Elia’s enthusiasm for profit felt a bit overwhelming.
“How about we redesign it like this?”
He showed her the edited blueprint.
Elia was amazed at how Bromnic could instantly revise her designs with ease.
Elia and Bromnic lost track of time discussing construction and design.
Even Bromnic was impressed by Elia’s knowledge.
“Wow, Lady Elia. You’re really impressive. How do you know so much? I’d love to invite you to our village someday.”
“I’d love that! I’ve always wanted to visit.”
“Haha! Then I’ll definitely invite you sometime.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll proceed with the platinum decoration according to this blueprint.”
“Please take good care of it.”
Bromnic packed up the revised design.
“You’re leaving right away?”
“I need to discuss the plans with my team.”
“You could at least stay for dinner…”
“Please invite me next time for that.”
“I will.”
After seeing Bromnic off, a hand suddenly picked Elia up in the air.
“Oh!”
Startled, she turned around—it was Alexis, smiling warmly.
“When did you get here?”
“Just now. You were seeing someone off, huh?”
“Yes, the one decorating our estate in platinum.”
“Lapis told me. A dwarf, right?”
“Yes, I was surprised too.”
She hadn’t expected Lapis to have connections with someone like Bromnic. Still, it was great news. Having a Dwarf’s work in the estate was something to brag about.
“Let’s go eat dinner.”
“Where’s the prince?”
“He’ll come soon. I told him to shower.”
“You worked him hard again today, didn’t you?”
“Swordsmanship doesn’t improve by itself.”
Elia could easily imagine how tough the training had been.
Alexis and Dmitri never went easy in sword training, even for Prince Noah.
“The prince told me you gave him a gift?”
“Yes, I found something that suited a dragon lair, so I gave it to him.”
“And what about mine?”
“Yours?”
“Didn’t I get a gift? I heard you personally picked out a necklace for him.”
“He mentioned that?”
“He was low-key bragging about it.”
“Really?”
“Totally.”
She was a bit surprised that Noah would brag.
“Of course I’m giving you a gift too!”
Elia had intended to give Alexis a gift as well.
It just happened that she gave Noah’s first. But the one who helped the most in finding the dragon lair was Alexis.
And of course, she planned to gift Dmitri and the Iron Eagle Knights too.
The dragon lair had been filled with treasures, after all.
The next day, Elia kept her promise.
She took out a gift from the dragon lair and gave it to Alexis—a bracelet blessed with sacred power, capable of instantly healing injuries. Since Alexis fought often, a healing-type accessory seemed ideal.
She gave Dmitri a ring that enhanced endurance.
Campbell received a ring that let him cast protective shields.
All the Iron Eagle Knights received magical artifacts that granted healing or shielding magic.
She also gave gifts to her loyal attendants, Meril and Norman.
Meril got a necklace that increased movement speed, and Norman received a ring that boosted vitality.
Even the chef received a gift—a golden cooking knife—as thanks for making delicious meals every day.
By the time all the gifts had been distributed, the whole day had flown by.
After dinner, Elia went for a walk and ran into Noah.
He seemed to have heard the news.
“You gave out gifts to everyone in the estate?”
“Yeah. What’s the point of hoarding treasure? You’re supposed to use it on occasions like this.”
“The Duke was bragging nonstop at the training grounds.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and Sir Dmitri too—it was wild.”
Noah shook his head, recalling how everyone was showing off their gifts like kids.
“I heard you bragged too, Your Highness.”
“Me?”
“Yes, the Duke told me yesterday. Said you wouldn’t stop bragging about the gift I gave you.”
“That’s because everyone kept asking where I got it from!”
“So it was bragging?”
“No, it wasn’t!”
“Why are you so defensive then?”
“I’m not!”
“See? You’re totally flustered right now.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You sure about that?”
Elia smirked teasingly, and Noah bristled.
“You’re teasing me again, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not.”
“You even mimicked my tone!”
“I didn’t!”
In the end, Noah let out a deep sigh.
“I should just stop talking…”
It was clear he couldn’t win a verbal battle with Elia, so he changed the subject.
“So that dwarf came yesterday, huh?”
“Curious?”
“A little…”
“You’ll see him often—he’ll be working here frequently.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Decorating the estate in platinum is no small job.”
“You’re seriously going with platinum?”
“Of course. When I say I’ll do something, I mean it.”
Elia was determined to make the estate as grand as the Imperial Palace or the Grand Duke’s mansion. She was already repairing the walls and initiating various construction projects.
