CHAPTER 64…………………………………………..
“How was it?”
As soon as I sat down, Rosalyn asked. She wiped her hands with a wet towel and looked at Teferi. I hadn’t really done anything. I’d only gone around exploring; there was no real investigation. Rodelia should have been here… I glanced at Teferi just in case, and her small mouth opened.
“It’s quite sturdy. It wouldn’t collapse even if someone inside struggled and kicked around.”
“Really? That’s unexpected.”
“It’s much stronger than the original blueprint. At this rate, it would definitely be rated as stable.”
“I see. That’s a relief, Rodelia.”
I nodded with a smile, and Rosalyn leaned her face on her arm, wearing a languid smile.
“We should be able to finish and head back in a couple of days.”
Something about her tired expression caught my attention. I felt a twinge of guilt. These people really should have been staying in proper lodging rather than a makeshift tent. Teferi could make it comfortable, but Rosalyn… it must be tough for her. Considering her age, I felt awkward for putting her through it.
“I’m sorry, Rosalyn. We should have booked a hotel.”
“Huh? Why are you apologizing, Ludia? I don’t mind sleeping in a tent at all.”
“But…”
“Besides, I’m not very fond of staying in hotels.”
Rosalyn shook her head, smiling softly as she relaxed her expression.
“They’re just depressing, you know.”
“Depressing?”
“Yes. Forced stability and simplicity. Manufactured comfort that tempts you in. It feels like you might get trapped there. Confining.”
I was taken aback; it was a perspective I hadn’t considered and didn’t know how to respond to, so I just stared blankly. Rosalyn, muttering quietly, glanced at me and softly moved her lips.
“It feels a bit awkward, right? But this is comfortable for me. This is the only way I’ve learned from Teferi.”
“From Teferi?”
“Yes.”
Our gazes shifted to Teferi, who was sipping cocoa nearby. Holding a cup larger than his hand, he shrugged casually.
I recalled what Teferi had said before we arrived. Likely, it was advice he expected from others while also imposing the same on himself.
So, even Teferi must live with a degree of distrust. The life he’s experienced over hundreds of years is probably beyond my comprehension.
I looked at his small shoulders, placed my palm on them, and spoke quietly.
“You can lean on me if it’s hard.”
Teferi put down the cup of cocoa and looked up at me with a blunt tone.
“Hey, what if you make it hard for me?”
“….”
I felt genuinely sorry.
Thanks to Teferi’s help, the bed I lay on was quite cozy. He tried to explain the concept of spatial displacement again, but it was so obscure that I couldn’t fully grasp it. Such concepts weren’t in the novels I read.
Regardless of the explanation, because Teferi transformed the space into a comfortable one, even a simple cot felt surprisingly pleasant. Yet, the mountain’s mine made the surrounding sounds eerie, and sleep didn’t come easily.
Moreover, the conversation I had with Teferi in the morning weighed on my mind. Hesitant and cautious, I only decided to go for a walk in the middle of the night, when the mountain doves were calling. Bracing against the cold wind, I headed to the lounge, thinking of having a cup of tea—and encountered a familiar figure.
“Professor Rodelia?”
“Oh, Lady Ludia.”
She looked surprised at me but then smiled gently and approached. I greeted her lightly. She seemed slightly tired, perhaps unable to sleep. Come to think of it, she had left earlier without eating, carrying all her tools and documents—was she still working?
“Where are you headed?”
“I can’t sleep, so I thought I’d have some tea. How about you?”
“Same here. Shall we go together?”
Rodelia smiled and led the way. We walked side by side through the lounge curtain. I moved ahead of her to fetch water, placed it on the stove, and prepared the teacups.
“You’re skilled, Lady.”
“Oh, this? Well… sometimes when guests come, I serve tea myself. And being born into a noble family, you learn these things. After a few times, it just becomes second nature.”
In truth, I hadn’t learned this; Ludia had. The accumulated knowledge and behavior patterns of her body shaped her current actions.
Rodelia nodded and sat down, watching me arrange the tea leaves while the water boiled. Then a voice came from behind.
“It may not be the best time to say this, but should I explain anyway?”
I glanced at her, then nodded. She relaxed her expression and spoke slowly.
“First, the ground is almost certainly stable. Considering the alluvial soil and the lake at the back, I expected some risk, but the ground is surprisingly solid. It seems to be the result of accumulation over a long time. Combined with the magically reinforced walls and supporting beams in the right locations, everything is stable. I’d give this investigation a passing grade. At least, if it were me.”
“Meaning it would pass university inspection without issue?”
“Of course. Honestly, this survey was unnecessary. Less than five years have passed, so a re-investigation wouldn’t reveal any major problems—unless there was volcanic activity or an earthquake here.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried.”
I poured her tea with a smile. Rodelia accepted it, inhaled its aroma, then glanced at me. Curious, I looked back, and she gently smiled.
“You’re quite remarkable, Lady.”
“In what way?”
I pulled out a chair, sat, and asked back slowly.
“Unlike others, everything about you—taste in tea, personality, behavior—is concise and orderly. Sometimes it’s astonishing, given your age. You know that, these days, etiquette and manners among nobles are empty words. What they mention only serves their pride; you’ll find none of the true past etiquette in them.”
Am I really allowed to speak ill of nobles in front of her? I sipped my tea.
“But your behavior is calm and gentle. You seem unawkward in dealing with people.”
“Maybe because I’ve met many people through business.”
“That’s a prior matter.”
Rodelia shook her head and tapped the table lightly.
“It’s not that doing business made you that way; you have that personality and behavior, so you do business, don’t you?”
“Hmm… I’ve never really thought about it. I never considered myself particularly strange or remarkable…”
“Can’t you tell by the other nobles you’ve met? Selfish, self-centered—typical noble traits.”
“Is that a professional observation?”
“I didn’t major in sociology, so I wouldn’t know in detail. But the question you just asked is similar; an ordinary noble wouldn’t ask that.”
I fell silent and watched her. Rodelia’s gaze studied me intently, as if exploring. After a while, she shifted her eyes to her cup.
“May I ask one thing?”
“What is it?”
She traced the surface of her tea cup, then looked up.
“Why did that man deem this mine unsuitable?”
“Do you mean… Jacques Setorin Akse?”
“Yes.”
She called him “that man,” so she likely didn’t acknowledge him as her father. I met her gaze, unsure how to answer. Should I speak honestly, or say something else? I hesitated, then opened my lips.
“I’m not sure.”
I didn’t know either; I could only guess.
“Perhaps he needed money, as Teferi suggested.”
“Could be.”
“But no one really knows. Whether he did it for money or on someone’s orders, no one can tell.”
I dismissed one possibility. Rodelia stared at me quietly, then shifted her gaze. Her lips parted slowly.
“I’m uneasy.”
“About what?”
“I’ve never even touched that man’s shadow. Abandoned at birth, placed under the Boldras family to study, I tried to surpass him, but I had no talent. Do you know? For geologists, spirits are an incredible gift. The ability to understand natural phenomena instinctively is something anyone would envy. He inherited that talent most powerfully. People call him insane for it.”
I wondered what Jacques Setorin looked like. I imagined a mad scientist.
“Ludia.”
“Yes?”
During the silence, her voice called me. She bit her lip, hesitated, and spoke slowly.
“What if he saw instability in this mine?”
“What do you mean?”
“Literally. If he saw instability that none of us could see… what would happen? It’s dangerous here, but if people overlook it because of his reputation and rumors, someone could die.”
She clenched her hands tightly.
“I… cannot ignore that possibility.”
“….”
I watched her shoulders shake, unsure how to respond. There was no answer I could give.
Perhaps Rodelia accompanied us not out of academic duty, but to trace her father, Jacques Setorin.
I understood why she had brought so many tools and documents without even eating, working late into the night analyzing the mine. She could only trust what she saw. But knowing her father’s reputation and skill, she probably sought every possible clue.
Perhaps she chases illusions. In pursuing what isn’t there, she could miss the important things and fall. A longing for her father? Misguided affection?
That’s why I cannot answer.
“No one knows. Only that man knows the answer.”
I, too, am merely fiction. I am not the master of this body.
