Chapter 91

Rupert surprisingly loved making fairy tale books.

He didn’t neglect his comic books either, but due to issues of volume and time, it was hard to show detailed illustrations.

When it came to illustrations for the fairy tale book, he had to draw them carefully and thoughtfully, making the act of drawing feel much more rewarding.

Not to mention, he also loved the uniquely simple storytelling and straightforward progression that fairy tale books possessed.

The one he wrote this time, [Hansel and Gretel], had a story so simple and interesting that even young children could understand it without any problem.

And of course, Rupert’s first reader was always decided.

“Here, Aida, it’s your gift.”

Even though he no longer made personalized fairy tale books, Rupert still tended to create one for Aida.

This book was a special fairy tale book just for her, the treasure she cherished the most in the world.

Of course, there was a brief moment when Aida’s position almost wavered due to a stick she got through barter not long ago, but still, Aida’s favorite was the fairy tale book made by her older brother Rupert.

“I’m going to read my fairy tale book!”

As soon as she received the fairy tale book from her brother, Aida, with a thrilled expression, began reading it while lying in Rach’s arms without even going to her own room.

Rupert felt a bit nervous watching Aida.

Ever the first to see his fairy tale books, Aida was surprisingly sharp in her evaluations, so Rupert had experienced several rejections before and had no choice but to focus on her reactions.

“The whale! The whale needs to be bigger, like this!”

When it was [Pinocchio], Aida had complained that the whale depicted in the illustration was too small, so Rupert had drastically increased the whale’s size based on her feedback.

Now, he was nervously waiting to see what Aida’s reaction to Hansel and Gretel would be, and at that moment, the last page of the fairy tale book turned.

“…Brother.”

“Yeah?”

“Are witches and candy houses really real?”

Rupert was taken aback by Aida’s sudden question about the witch and the candy house, not the evaluation of the work.

‘What am I supposed to say to that?’

Thinking saying there wasn’t would shatter Aida’s childhood innocence, Rupert replied,

“Of course, they all exist!”

Feeling guilty but answering that they truly existed made Aida’s expression brighten up immensely.

Then Aida’s expression turned serious again.

As Rupert felt a hint of doubt at the rapid change, Aida had already vanished like the wind with Rach.

“Did she like it?”

Thinking Aida seemed satisfied without any complaints, he felt relieved, but without a concrete opinion, he felt uneasy.

*

“Aida found out, Rach!”

“Woof?”

Aida, holding the newly received fairy tale book Hansel and Gretel in one hand and making a fist with the other, exclaimed.

Since she was talking to Rach, it was uncertain whether she should have said that, but her pursed lips looked determined.

“Oun was the witch!”

Reading the fairy tale book made by her brother, Aida couldn’t stop trembling all over.

She had realized that there was an evil witch hiding in the mansion.

Not long ago, the villain Oun, who had tormented her while keeping her captive, had used the same methods as the witch in Hansel and Gretel, and Aida caught on.

“How could… how could he! Luring Aida with candy!”

Recently in the village, no child dared to catch Aida, and she believed that with Rach by her side in the mansion, no one could stop her. That defeat was a bitter wound.

She thought it was unforgivable, a vile act to set a trap with her favorite candies and cookies.

“Woof!”

At that moment, Rach, who had been lured by the white calf meat Oun had given, seemed to empathize with Aida’s anger as if nothing had happened.

“Aida has to protect our home!”

Aida made a decision.

The evil witch Oun couldn’t really be called a witch since he was actually a man.

However, since Aida learned the concept of a witch from Rupert’s fairy tale book, she had already categorized bad people as witches in her mind, so Oun was a witch.

Anyway, Aida was determined to defeat the wicked witch Oun and reclaim her freedom.

“Let’s go to Alain, Rach!”

Having made up her mind, Aida mounted Rach’s back and headed for the butler Alain.

Why head to Alain, you ask? The reason was simple.

Among the people Aida knew, Alain was the strongest.

*

“Father, I plan to visit Goldfull Valley soon.”

“Your destination will be Somerset, then.”

In a beautifully maintained garden, with lovely flowers, neatly trimmed grass, and trees surrounding them like a fence, two men were enjoying tea.

The two men, despite being the most important and the second most important figures in the empire, were having a rather mundane tea time.

“Yeah… I’m the godfather, so I should at least go see him, right?”

“I didn’t realize you cared so much for the child.”

Their casual exchange about each other’s daily lives might seem ordinary for a family, but anyone who knew about this relationship a few months ago would find it hard to believe.

It was quite strange for Emperor Leonious Bell and Crown Prince Alex Bell to be peacefully sipping tea and talking with each other.

However,

‘Let’s have tea together on a nice day sometimes.’

The Emperor, who usually only told his son to study, to be cautious, and to reflect, had this one remark, which changed their relationship.

The father worked to understand his son’s feelings, while the son realized his father had his own struggles in his position.

Thus, compared to those first few times when they would say nothing until finishing their tea, they had made significant progress and were now able to talk to one another.

“Well, he’s just a really cute kid.”

-Just seeing him makes my heart feel at ease.-

The little one, who used to be scruffy, now made him feel sad if he didn’t see him, making him want to take him to the Imperial Palace.

“Also, take a bit of care for that little brother of yours.”

Seeing his son excited about going to see that little one made the Emperor smile.

‘He never used to let anyone into his embrace.’

Suddenly, the Emperor’s gaze shifted to his son’s right arm.

Though now used to it and no longer feeling particularly moved, his gaze nonetheless fixated once again on the new mechanical golem arm.

Without it, the Emperor might have truly gone mad.

At that point, a young man sprang to mind.

“By the way, when you go to Somerset, you’ll meet Professor Rupert too, I presume.”

“Yes, unless something unusual happens.”

The Emperor felt uneasy since Rupert, who had rejected his proposal and gone to the academy, was on his mind.

‘I really wish he would help the Crown Prince.’

The position of Head Attendant was more than adequate, but since he had already rejected it, he needed to think of another option.

Then suddenly, the Emperor thought of his daughter Ioleen.

‘It’s about time for her to get married.’

Among the many things the Emperor usually pondered, one was his children’s marriages.

The eldest Alex had had an engagement but had to find a new partner due to some circumstances that caused it to be broken off.

His second son William was being forced to prepare for a marriage alliance this time.

And now with Ioleen, his daughter, it was time for her marriage to come about, so the Emperor began to review the families that would be suitable for Ioleen’s husband.

Men who were too old were eliminated.
Those with too much power were also eliminated.

Surprisingly, there weren’t many families suitable for marrying Ioleen.

If he thought objectively, the best option would be a marriage alliance with a foreign royal family, but he wasn’t particularly keen on that.

Ioleen was the Emperor’s only daughter, and although she didn’t show it, she was very much cherished.

With beauty, kindness, and outstanding talent, he didn’t want to send his treasure to an area where his eyes couldn’t reach.

‘Rupert, someone like him should be acceptable.’

Although the fact that he passed over his own father was a bit risky, the Emperor thought a man should have that kind of ambition.

Besides, as the heir of the Somerset household, he was just a hair short of marrying into royalty, but that was just about right.

If the family had more clout, they would surely have ulterior motives thinking of using Ioleen.

The talents Rupert had were also quite impressive to him.

His solid answers during the recent Honorable Subjects selection revealed his courage—he was no ordinary man.

“Then I guess I should get ready.”

“Yes? For what…?”

“It’s a thing.”

When the Emperor’s cryptic words left Alex puzzled, he simply smiled and departed the garden.

*

“I knew my judgment was right!”

The guild leader of the Vera Merchant Association, once the top guild in the empire but now relegated to the Seventh Guild, roared.

In truth, his shortcomings led to the Vera Merchant Association falling from the top guild to the Seventh Guild.

In a situation where maintaining what they had would have sufficed, the ambitious attempts to surpass their ancestors’ achievements were considered the main cause of their decline.

Yet, was that ambitious endeavor finally bearing fruit?

They were the first to jump into the fairy tale and comic book business handled by the Yuren Guild, and they were slowly starting to see results.

Of course, the process was not without hardships.

Initially, they almost faced the wrath of the royal family for trying to sell copied works, and when they finally released original creations, they were mocked for being compared to Rupert’s works.

However, they persevered and steadily improved their business, and now they had climbed to the position of a reasonable alternative.

That said, because these results were achieved during the absence of Rupert’s works, they remained constantly on edge, knowing that any new release from him could change the situation.

“That damn Rupert! Rupert!! He’s just one person! We have already gathered three painters and storytellers and are creating our own works.”

The guild leader of Vera still had something to rely on.

No matter how great Rupert was, he was still just one body and could only produce one work at a time. They believed this presented a reasonable plan for them to fill that gap.

However,

“Guild leader! We have a big problem!!!”

“Again?”

Vera felt déjà vu from the familiar scene.

It felt like this had happened before…

“Yuren Guild has announced a new release!”

“Ugh! What’s the big deal? It’s just what we expected!”

“That… that’s not all.”

Since Rupert hadn’t released a new work since Iron-Blooded Alchemist, it was about time he released something again.

Yet, Vera was annoyed because he thought this was already anticipated.

But he could not help but shout again at the next staff member’s words.

   

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