Episode 1
[No more writing with a pen!]
[A new revolution in letters!]
[The typewriter becomes an office essential — pre-orders fully booked until next spring!]
[A thin needle that blocks the wrath of the gods!]
[Lightning rods installed across the North on trial!]
[Damage from lightning has dropped by 80%!]
…
[Invention becomes a true revolution!]
[The genius inventor the world is watching!]
[The mysterious inventor protected by the North… is actually the Lady Duke’s lover?!]
“Lady Duke.”
“Hmm?”
“They’re saying I’m your mistress.”
“Have you ever seen my husband? Do you think you could beat him?”
“…”
What does that have to do with the false rumor?
Arpina was not the Lady Duke’s mistress, and she had absolutely no intention of becoming one.
Still, she automatically imagined the duke’s husband — a muscular, handsome man she had only caught a glimpse of from afar.
“…He looked strong enough to rip someone like me in half with one hand.”
“Puhahaha!”
The Lady Duke burst out laughing, holding her stomach. Her long black hair, which flowed freely, swayed every time she laughed.
After laughing for quite a while, she finally caught her breath.
“Ah, that was funny. Can I tell my husband what you said?”
“I think he’d be annoyed…”
“The man I love isn’t so petty that he’d get upset over a joke. If he were, I wouldn’t live with him.”
The Lady Duke smiled at the 17-year-old girl in front of her.
A gentle-looking face that seemed younger than her age, always calm and not showing much emotion.
Her curly hair looked like the sky just before sunrise — a soft bluish color.
But if you looked closely, it also had a hint of purple, like the sky high above the clouds. It was a rare, strange, and beautiful color.
Every time the Lady Duke saw Arpina’s hair, she would say:
“Your hair looks like the dawn calling the sun. Just like you’re about to bring a new era to the Empire.”
Really?
Arpina glanced at her hair falling over her shoulder, not really understanding what that meant. She simply ignored the poetic words the Lady Duke added.
“Don’t worry too much about it.”
The Lady Duke brought up the rumors again.
“They spread nonsense like that because no one knows who you really are.”
Of course, the rumor about her being a lover was false.
But the reason such ridiculous gossip even appeared in newspapers was because of everything Arpina had accomplished in the past few years.
“It just shows how amazing you are.”
The Lady Duke casually listed Arpina’s achievements, folding her fingers one by one like counting:
“You created a way to stop lightning, once called the punishment of the gods. You made the typewriter, which revolutionized office work…”
A white lamp that replaced sunlight during the North’s long polar nights. Various assistive tools for people with disabilities.
An energy-efficient circulating stove.
And many other groundbreaking inventions that made the mysterious inventor famous across the Empire — and even beyond its borders.
No one knew the inventor’s gender.
Or their age.
Some even doubted whether the inventor really existed.
“Arpina.”
The Lady Duke looked at the girl — the genius inventor of the century. If someone asked her what her proudest achievement was, she would boldly answer:
Making Arpina one of her people.
“You’re already a third-year student now.”
“Yes.”
“How old were you when we first met?”
“Eleven.”
“Already six years…”
The Lady Duke looked fondly at the girl she had sponsored, feeling how fast time had passed.
“Do you ever hear from your family?”
“No.”
Arpina’s soft eyes turned cold for a moment.
“And they shouldn’t contact me. It’s better that way.”
Arpina had no regrets about leaving behind the family she had rejected.
She was only eleven years old when she looked out the carriage window, watching her family’s mansion grow smaller in the distance.
That was when she swore:
One day, I’ll destroy that place with my own hands.
“…Shall we talk about something else?”
The Lady Duke changed the uncomfortable subject to something more casual.
“Is the academy fun? School starts again tomorrow.”
“It’s fun in its own way. There are already lots of students back in the dorms.”
“How’s Sonia?”
“She recently took money from some bullies and bought cake with it.”
“I’m glad she’s doing well. What about you? Got a crush on anyone?”
“No way. I believe in staying single forever.”
“If I say that people who say that usually get married early, will you get mad?”
“…”
“Or maybe…”
After teasing her on purpose,
“…Did you bring what I asked for?”
The Lady Duke finally brought up the real reason she had called Arpina, even though it was the day before school started and she must’ve been busy settling into the dorm.
Arpina moved the box she’d been resting on her knees onto the table.
It was a neatly wrapped square box, decorated with fancy paper and a ribbon like a birthday gift.
But the thing inside was nothing like a birthday present.
“I didn’t get to test it, but it should work properly.”
“Another legend is about to be born.”
The Lady Duke smiled proudly as she took the box.
Clack.
Click.
Then again, clack.
Followed by another click.
“Hmmm…”
The duke kept handling the heavy silver metal object in her hand, turning it over and over. It was something that had never existed in the Empire before.
Yet she handled it like it was familiar.
Clack.
“Geniuses really are something else…”
Her sharp eyes carefully examined the object.
Arpina had created a weapon that the duke had only imagined in her head long ago — something that had never existed before.
Now, after six years, it was real.
It was perfect.
Flawless.
Even now, the duke couldn’t quite believe it. When she first asked Arpina to make this weapon, all she had done was draw what it might look like.
She hadn’t explained how it should work, what parts were needed, or how it should be built.
She had only imagined it — but Arpina, only 17 years old, brought it to life.
The duke was once again amazed by Arpina’s genius.
‘It’s not the weapon that will change the world.’
It’s Arpina who will change the world.
And the more Arpina made her mark on the world, the closer she would come to achieving her perfect revenge.
At that moment—
“Mother.”
Knock knock, came a sound at the door.
The duke quickly put the weapon into her drawer.
“Come in.”
Slide. The door opened, and her son and daughter walked in.
“Mom! Mom!”
Her 6-year-old daughter, who looked just like the duke with her silver hair, ran over and hugged her legs.
“Brother used up all the paper!”
“Oh, the school application?”
The duke held out her hand.
Her 15-year-old son — who looked like his father, except for his black hair and eyes — proudly handed over the papers.
“…”
The duke read through the application and let out a deep sigh.
“Hey.”
She asked:
“Are you really planning to apply like this?”
“You already said I could! Why are you suddenly acting surprised…”
“I’m shocked now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
“Brother, does this mean you’re not a noble anymore?”
The little sister, now standing next to her brother, blinked her big eyes and asked. Her twin ponytails swayed like candy wrappers.
“It’s just for a little while.”
The boy kissed his sister’s forehead.
“So when I see you at school, do I have to talk to you formally?”
“Delia, you already speak casually to me.”
“Oh, right!”
“Then I’ll talk formally to you instead. ‘Hello, young lady of the duke’s house. May I ask your lovely name?’”
Even though he was acting like a commoner, he still sounded like a prince, and his sister burst into giggles.
“Hello to you too. My name is Fedeliana.”
“What a beautiful name!”
“Then what’s your name?”
“My name is…”
While the kids were playing and giggling with each other, the duke quietly looked over her son’s school application again.
[Name: Del]
[Family Name: None]
“…Unbelievable.”
Even reading it again, the duke was speechless.
“I can’t believe my own son would give up his noble status for love. This isn’t why I gave birth to you.”
“It’s only for a little while, Mother.”
“Call me ‘Mom.’”
The duke patted her daughter’s head as she clung to her and innocently asked, “Can you sell your family, too?”
“You said she’s in the technology department, right?”
Del asked.
“That department is full of commoners. So as a commoner, I’ll be able to get closer to her.”
“But…”
“Besides, she’s been through a lot, right?”
“…”
“I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.”
Del was only 15, but he had read and heard a lot. And the person he had learned the most about — was a third-year student at the academy.
That “Senior” girl.
“…”
The duke held back a sigh.
She had a lot to say to her son.
Like: Are you out of your mind?
But…
‘Well, this might be fun.’
So instead of stopping him, she decided to step back and watch.
“When she turns you down, I’ll laugh at you and then comfort you.”
“I’ll bring my future bride to visit, so please get the guest room ready. I wonder what kind of style she likes?”
“I shouldn’t be the one saying this, but… you’re totally crazy.”
“Mom! That’s a bad word! Uncle says that to Brother and then kicks him!”
“Oops.”
The duke looked troubled and quickly told her daughter not to tell Grandpa or Dad.
Whether she managed to bribe her with candy or not…
‘Soon… I’ll finally meet her!’
The boy who wrote “Del” on his application was bursting with excitement.
He had only one dream:
“Someday, I want to be buried in a sunny spot, sharing a grave with her…”
“…Mom.”
Delia, watching her big brother say something completely crazy with a bright smile, whispered softly:
“…How exactly did you raise him? He’s totally insane now…”
Is our family’s future going to be okay?
