Volume 1 - CH 2

The creation of magical tools is a difficult process.

Tossing another failed part, the junk box made a nice clanging sound.

“I can’t do it… it’s impossible to imitate a magic crest perfectly…”

Everything went smoothly yet the imitation of the magic crest is not more than 95%.

Even if they try to resell it because the mechanism is good, the design is one-of-a-kind for the prince.

Either remake it later, or melt it down and recover the metal… Either way, it’s a complete piece of junk at this point.

“I wish I could at least concentrate on my work…”

The amount of miscellaneous chores that my parents tell me to do in the meantime is a lot.

I glanced at the pile of unprocessed materials beside me and sighed.

For example, it is said that it takes at least a year to make a single dress made of magic weave, with multiple craftsmen working on it.

And yet, the money earned from the sale of one dress is only enough for the average person to barely eat for a few months.

It takes a year to complete four or five garments, but a mage’s shop is able to make a living only after the design is deceptively simple and the materials are cut, and four or five garments are completed.

I make at least a hundred dresses a year and countless other magical tools at the same time, but my family’s finances are still on fire.

Because all the money our shop makes is spent by my sister.

Tuition for the magic academy.

Dresses, jewelry, and cosmetics.

Horse-drawn carriage and driver charges.

In any case, it costs money to disguise herself as a noble daughter enough to catch the prince’s attention.

I tossed aside the work and munched on the bread that my mother gave me.

Cheapest, black bread from the local bakery.

Even if I don’t have jam, butter, or olive oil, it’s fragrant and delicious if lightly roasted in a high-temperature oven.

…a little lie that I tell myself.

Actually, I want to eat white bread too.

I envy my sister who eats all she wants every day.

…If my sister succeeds in marrying well, she promised to give me a good life too.

If I try a little harder, I’m sure a life where I can eat white bread will be waiting for me.

Good luck.

I swallowed a bitter powder of nutritional supplements that an elderly woman selling medicinal herbs in the neighborhood shared with me, and went back to work.

I want to eat delicious bread.

I want to eat delicious meat.

I want to eat delicious cake.

I am like a horse with a carrot dangling in front of me.

Even I have made hundreds and thousands of magic tools.

Even if I was only good enough to do chores, my love for them is as strong as anyone else’s.

I am sure that I will find the best and tastiest food with this “love” as my power.

Thinking of the steaks my sister had told me the other day from calves raised on the coast and fed on grass with a hint of saltiness, I worked fervently.

I was working on it non-stop.

I don’t even remember how many days passed.

However, the completion was abrupt.

“So… done…!”

Checked against the recorded magical crest of the sister.

Yes, a perfect match.

100%.

For all intents and purposes, it was made by my sister.

I didn’t have the strength to cheer, but inside I was overjoyed. The sense of openness was unbelievable.

With unsteady steps, I first took it to my mother.

“You made it? Hmmm ……”

The product is exactly as described, and the workmanship is perfect.

Even so, my mother’s disgust appeared on her face.

“Can I eat something? If possible, meat…”

I was really hungry, so I asked, ignoring my mother’s disgusted look.

Then the mother raised her eyebrows, just like my sister.

“Aren’t you getting carried away? You might think you’ve made something amazing, but hey, this kind of technique is only useful for counterfeiters.”

“Yes, that’s right”

This is a technique that, as the mother said, just makes the magic crest look exactly like the magic crest.

It is an ability that can only be used when selling counterfeit goods at a high price by making them look like they were made by a famous magician.

I knew that it was not a complimentary technique at all.

But that’s not important, meat!

I want to eat meat!

I was in serious need of meat, but my mother was heartless.

“There’s still time until dinner, so hold off on eating until then. Also, you have to reflect on how you got carried away, so you’re going to have only bread and water for dinner for a while.”

I was so shocked that I almost fell to my knees.

Meat……

I wanted to eat meat, so I tried my best…

I went back to my room, crying bitterly.

After receiving the news from me, my sister hurriedly returned home, snatching up the magic tools and began inspecting them.

“Are you sure everything will be okay this time?”

“It’s perfect. So if you have any, food …… snacks, bless you …….”

“I don’t eat sweets. I get bloated and acne prone, and the sugar damages my teeth. My beautiful proportions are the result of hard work. Do you understand?”

My highly conscious sister mocked me and quickly returned to the academy.

Feeling hungry, I nibbled at the black bread and went back to the chores my parents had asked me to do.

If I don’t finish it quickly, I’ll be beaten again and living on bread will be extended.

My thoughts were now dominated by ‘I don’t want to get hit’ and ‘I want to eat meat.’

It’s a secret that when I recalled this kind of existence later, I thought that it really was no different that a ‘well-trained dog’.

Prince Albert praised the magic tools that Artemisia had brought with her.

“Wonderful…What a beautiful magic tool. In this compact design, this high-density magical technique is casually incorporated… this much magic in such a small exterior… how wasteful. It’s a compressed magic… Ah, it’s really wonderful. Simply, it’s beautiful as an accessory, isn’t it? To be able to finish it as a first-class work of art without sacrificing its functionality…”

Artemisia listened to the prince’s story in an appropriate manner.

Unlike her sister, Artemisia is not interested in magical tools.

“I will show this to His Majesty the King, and this time I will persuade him.”

Artemisia smiled smugly as she received an embrace from the prince.

“I can think of no one better to be the future Queen.”

Even if she had no interest in magic tools, being sweetly whispered to by a handsome prince, tickled her ego.

A short time later, the engagement of Prince Albert and Artemisia, granddaughter of the former princess, was announced with great fanfare.