Chapter 60
“…N-No way! It’s not like that… it’s just that what she’s receiving feels too much, and it doesn’t feel right.”
Although she had been taught never to show her emotions in front of the princess, Marisol hadn’t hidden any feelings from Princess Angelina for quite some time.
It was because Angelina had gently told her that she didn’t need to hide anything in front of her.
“…Is that so?”
Angelina raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes, listening attentively to Marisol’s words.
“…If it’s something she wasn’t meant to have, don’t worry too much. The Sun God will surely restore it.”
Suddenly in a good mood, Angelina twirled once and came over to Marisol, placing a hand on her shoulder and whispering softly.
She comforted Marisol, who was ten years her senior, with the same skill and care one would give a young puppy.
Marisol pretended to accept it, but she couldn’t simply calm down like that.
Angelina was too pure to understand, but Marisol knew.
The world wasn’t that fair.
For some time, Marisol had denied the existence of the Sun God.
And although Angelina didn’t know, Marisol had been doing many things for a long time to protect Angelina, the empire’s angel, from an unfair and unjust world.
“…Just like always.”
Angelina’s sweet words, implying “just like always,” felt like a kind of absolution.
It was the lazy Sun God’s fault for failing to properly treat Angelina as the protagonist she truly was.
Marisol considered herself a small Sun God, protecting her.
The only one she wanted to shine upon was Angelina.
“…Yes, I suppose so.”
Marisol knew perfectly well what she had to do this time as well.
After finishing her duties as head lady-in-waiting, Liriana stepped out of the palace.
For some reason, there was a commotion outside Lepia Palace, with soldiers and attendants bustling about.
Curious to see what the fuss was about, Liriana pushed through the crowd and saw a familiar navy-colored heap of scrap metal.
“…G-Godfather?”
She recalled that he had called that scrap carriage an “automobile.”
Liriana remembered the story she had heard during her last meeting with Blaine.
Even in the empire, the royal family always received new technology first, so seeing a car here for the first time would be astonishing.
Though they pretended not to be impressed, even high-ranking officials in the royal court were peeking out the windows in fascination, while an eager young soldier asked Blaine how many tiny horses were hidden inside this heap of metal.
Amused by the soldier’s ridiculous guess, Blaine had been explaining the car for ten straight minutes.
Helene, sitting nearby, looked bored.
“Stepmother, what… what’s going on here?”
Liriana called Helene over as she approached the car.
“Oh! You finally came out! Well… the Godfather wanted to come along too.”
Helene explained the situation to a flustered Liriana.
Helene was planning to go with Liriana to the boutique to fit the debutante ball dress today.
Now officially recognized by Princess Angelina, Liriana was going to be busier than ever.
Why did noble young ladies always have so many demands?
Some didn’t want to sit next to certain people, others wanted to sit closer to specific friends, or in a seat where their left profile was visible, or directly under the chandelier.
If it weren’t today, Liriana wouldn’t have had the time.
So Helene had gone to find Blaine, the reliable supporter of the three sisters.
She only hoped to notify the shop on Blanc Street in advance, but Blaine offered to accompany her, saying it was also his duty to check on the shops in his building.
That’s how they had arrived at Lepia Palace by car.
“The Godfather?”
“Yes, as the building owner, he also needs to hear the tenants’ concerns.”
Knowing that Liriana had arrived, Blaine finished his conversation with the soldiers and absentmindedly fiddled with the steering wheel.
Even when she had heard that Blaine would fully support her debutante ball preparations, Liriana had been astonished. But to have the world’s richest man, responsible for more than half of the empire’s economy, personally accompany her—she could hardly believe it.
Yet the navy-colored heap of metal before her proved that it was real.
“Enough talking, Liri. You, get in.”
Liriana climbed into the car carefully for the first time.
Soon, the excitement of riding a car for the first time was evident on her face.
‘This won’t last long… she’s going to get terrible motion sickness.’
Helene smiled bitterly to herself.
“All right, let’s go.”
Blaine started the engine, now quite adept at handling it.
“…Ugh.”
Helene looked at Liriana sitting in the back seat.
As expected, her face had turned pale from motion sickness.
Having experienced cars in her previous life, Helene wasn’t affected, but it was natural for Liriana, a first-timer, to feel sick.
Helene glanced at the side seat again.
Blaine was focused on driving.
This second car ride was a bit faster than the last, but still slower than a carriage powered by magic stones.
If it had been a magic stone carriage, they would have already arrived.
And the ride quality seemed worse than the carriage as well.
“How is it?”
Finally, Blaine asked the question he had been wanting to.
After continuous research since the last attempt, the car’s speed had increased, and starting it had become easier.
‘C-Could he be trying to show off?’
Helene caught the slight smirk on Blaine’s lips.
Without her memories from a previous life, she would have been genuinely amazed by the car and its achievements.
It was truly remarkable to have created such progress with the meager technology of this world.
But now, Liriana in the back seat seemed about to faint.
She could have flattered Blaine, who would buy her debutante dress, but Helene didn’t think Blaine was asking for that kind of attention.
“Hmm… but I’ve been wondering since last time, what fuel does this car use?”
The unimpressive and unstable exhaust sound didn’t seem like regular oil.
Helene had always been curious what could make such a sound.
“It’s a fuel made from coal.”
Blaine’s car ran on a liquid condensed from coal.
‘Coal…’
It existed in this world, but it wasn’t a preferred fuel.
And it wasn’t just coal.
This world had similar resources to her previous life, but they weren’t commonly used.
The reason was simple: there were magic stones here, an incredible energy source.
“…Not magic stones?”
Magic stones were extraordinary.
Just a pinch could powerfully burn a house, detonate a mine, and livestock fed with them were ten times more efficient.
Humans without magical ability could even use magic through magic stones.
But Blaine gave a “not this again…” expression and continued.
“The car will be built purely through technology. We can’t rely on magic stones.”
When researchers suggested fuel for the car, all had recommended magic stones.
But Blaine refused.
Magic had already become commercialized for the upper class, and the car was meant for commoners, far removed from magic.
The market price of magic stones kept rising, pushing ordinary people further from them. Blaine didn’t want to make cars dependent on magic stones.
“I won’t contribute to making magic stones even more expensive.”
Magic stones were obtained by killing monsters.
Many commoners died trying to gather them.
The empire repeatedly tried policies to stabilize the magic stone market, but failed every time.
With that, Blaine let out a small sigh.
Helene watched him silently.
