Chapter 97
Mabel couldn’t bring herself to trust Jace’s words.
He was someone she had just met, and she couldn’t understand why he would move for her sake.
When Mabel looked at him suspiciously, Jace explained the commotion that had happened earlier.
‘I just hate it when people with no ability act all high and mighty.’
It was a blunt insult, but his face was strangely conflicted as he said it.
A smirk mixed with guilt—Mabel was too young to realize it was a form of self-loathing.
‘They act all confident like no one will ever catch them. Someone needs to teach them a lesson.’
But the words that followed felt genuine.
The anger and irritation in his eyes were too raw to be an act.
And since those feelings were ones Mabel herself could relate to, she decided to accept his request.
Besides, it wasn’t something that would cause a major disruption to her plans.
‘This blueprint, let me just make a few changes.’
At most, he only altered the blueprint a little.
If everything went according to Mabel’s plan, his turn would never even come.
Thinking that, Mabel made her way toward Eupina.
By then, the gathering was already winding down.
Because of the commotion caused by Jace, the vice-president had cut most of the schedule short to end things quickly.
“Oh my.”
Eupina, who had been chatting next to Cornel as though she were his close companion, noticed Mabel.
She acted as though she had only just realized she was there.
“Eupina, I have something to say.”
“Oh my, Mabel! You came again! What a relief—I thought you wouldn’t come back!”
Her tone was sweet, but no one present took those words at face value.
Even the children who had been about to leave paused and turned back, sensing that something entertaining was about to happen.
‘Stay calm.’
Mabel took deep breaths to keep from stuttering.
“About the gift last time…”
“Ah, yes. You want to say that invention was yours, don’t you?”
“That’s… yes.”
But Eupina gave her no chance to recover her composure.
Covering her lips with her fan, she lowered her gaze with a sorrowful look.
“You must have suffered a lot because of that. I even heard about the incident at the Baron’s presentation. It was all because of me, wasn’t it? I must have hurt you deeply.”
‘This is…’
The same sense of danger she had felt when she first discovered Eupina’s gift box swept over her again.
She realized she had walked into a trap.
“What, did you come here to demand an apology from Eupina?”
“How shameless. To do something wrong and not even feel embarrassed…”
As Eupina pulled a sad face, her friends began scolding Mabel in her defense.
This level of scorn was something Mabel had anticipated.
But she had never imagined Eupina would pretend to be the victim.
As though she were the wrongdoer.
Mabel stumbled over her words.
“No… I came to claim my right.”
“Right?”
“I’m taking back my invention. The counterfeit wasn’t made by me… it was Eupina.”
In the end, what came out of her mouth wasn’t a carefully constructed argument, but a clumsy statement.
Eupina’s gaze softened with pity, making Mabel feel like a childish brat throwing a tantrum.
“You really thought I stole your invention, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did. I invented it first. You heard that too.”
“Oh dear… Mabel, you’ve got it backwards. I invented it, and you copied me. Twisting facts won’t do.”
Anger surged up inside her, but she managed to hold it back.
She had already expected Eupina to deny it.
Instead, she placed the canvas she was holding onto the table.
“This is…”
“My blueprint.”
“…”
“I copied the notes exactly. Look, this design—”
But before Mabel could continue, Eupina cut her off.
“Oh my, when did you steal mine? I showed you this before, didn’t I? You copied me, didn’t you?”
“…”
Eupina’s acting was so smooth that Mabel was left speechless.
The word despicable she’d once read in a book came to mind.
When someone is shameless beyond belief, even anger loses its force.
Mabel could sense Eupina’s firm intent—she would never allow any of her claims.
‘She really does hate me.’
The last thin thread of belief she had in Eupina finally snapped.
‘She couldn’t possibly have made that device. Then…’
Mabel steadied herself and asked,
“Then can you explain this? Do you know what this device is used for?”
Of course she wouldn’t.
Mabel had deliberately left out the assembly instructions.
At first glance, no one could tell what the device was for.
Yet Eupina answered as if it were obvious.
“‘Spring screw’… It’s a spring used in hinges, isn’t it?”
“…”
And that answer was exactly what Jace had hoped for.
Mabel was stunned that the situation was unfolding according to his plan.
‘She studied the blueprint.’
Mabel had expected Eupina to either dismiss it or make a mistake pretending to know.
She had drawn the blueprint confusingly on purpose.
When Eupina slipped up, Mabel had planned to prove her own knowledge—showing the real parts she had prepared in the carriage.
But Eupina’s memorized explanations shattered that childish plan.
The reason was simple.
‘I underestimated her.’
Looking down on Eupina’s efforts had been her mistake.
She might not know the principles, but she had memorized all the parts’ names.
“Oh my, Mabel. Did you really think I wouldn’t know something like this?”
Eupina laughed mockingly, as if asking if this was the best Mabel could come up with.
Yet despite being belittled, Mabel said nothing.
Not because she had no words, but because she had nothing left to say to Eupina.
“Hey, then what’s this part? Looks unusual.”
At that moment, Jace jumped in as if on cue.
Placing a hand casually on Eupina’s shoulder, he pointed at another part.
Startled by his sudden intrusion, Eupina nevertheless answered as though reciting a script.
“That’s an anchor. It helps the spring turn smoothly.”
“And this?”
“A column wheel. A hook that triggers the button when the box opens.”
“And this heart-shaped thing?”
“It says ‘barrel.’ It’s the container that winds the spring.”
“Ah-ha—”
Jace touched his lips, trying hard not to laugh.
When his shoulder brushed hers, Eupina blushed slightly, cleared her throat, and stepped back.
“Why are you butting in? I was talking to Mabel just now, and you keep…”
“Because it’s funny. I switched all the names, and you got every single one wrong.”
“…What?”
“You didn’t know? I scribbled random names on that blueprint.”
Of course she wouldn’t have known.
Mabel lowered her gaze to the canvas.
Before the gathering, Jace had borrowed a pencil and altered her blueprint.
He had left the messy drawing intact, but switched several part names.
Anchor, wheel, lever, barrel… In short, the labels were all wrong.
Had Eupina simply denied it, no one would have noticed.
But she had confidently answered—and walked straight into the trap.
“Hey, Mabel. Why don’t you explain? What’s an anchor?”
“It’s a ‘hook.’ A part that stops the spring from unwinding further. And…”
Mabel calmly continued her explanation.
No matter how distorted the drawing, if you explained along with it, the shapes made sense.
Soon the onlookers became absorbed in Mabel’s words… and Eupina’s face went pale.
“N-no, that can’t be…”
She had memorized the blueprint well.
Well enough to rattle off the functions just by looking at the labels. She must have worked very hard.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
“Eupina, was it? The truth is, you don’t know anything, do you?”
“N-no! The meaning is clear—”
“Not true? Then should we bring the actual parts and compare? See if the anchor looks like a hook or a circle? Easy to check.”
“…”
Of course she couldn’t.
The moment she answered Mabel’s first question, she had already walked into a trap she couldn’t escape.
The longer she stayed silent, the more the crowd’s stares turned against her.
“Memorization isn’t enough to learn properly. Didn’t you know?”
“Y-you…”
“You need theory to apply it. I learned that too—cheating doesn’t work.”
Jace’s sneer cracked Eupina’s mask.
She frantically looked around.
“T-that’s…”
The Western Sun was nicknamed a “miniature high society.”
There, no matter how popular someone was, the moment they lost their legitimacy, they became everyone’s target.
That’s why anyone attacking another needed thorough preparation—because when the knives turned on them, survival was everything.
Just as Mabel had underestimated Eupina, Eupina had overestimated herself.
‘I need to make an excuse, fast…’
But with her mind blank, no words would come out.
“Wait—are you saying Eupina lied?”
“Eupina said it was her cousin’s mistake…”
“So she really is a lowborn after all? Must be her dirty blood showing…”
Karma always returns with greater force.
Hidden in the crowd, Eupina searched desperately for whoever had mocked her, but she failed.
The mood had already shifted in Mabel’s favor.
“Mabel! W-will you hear me out? You know, right? This isn’t what it looks like.”
She looked at Mabel with pleading eyes.
If Mabel would just say it was a mistake, she could smooth it over, pretending she had gone too far, and resolve it as if they were still loving sisters.
She sent the signal, but—
“Eupina.”
“Y-yes!”
“I didn’t make a counterfeit. I want you to apologize.”
“…”
Mabel’s goal was utterly simple.
She didn’t care about Eupina’s friendships, or the atmosphere of the Western Sun.
The only thing she wanted was to reclaim her invention.
“Pfft—ha!”
Jace burst out laughing at Mabel’s firm answer.
But Eupina couldn’t bring herself to apologize.
If she admitted to making a counterfeit now, she would lose everything.
Just as she was scrambling for a way out, salvation arrived.
“No! Eupina could never do that!”
It was Cornel.
Throwing out his arms as though he were a knight on a white horse, he shielded her.
“C-Cornel?”
“Don’t you think everyone’s being too harsh? Eupina hasn’t even been proven guilty yet. We need to clarify the facts before accusing her.”
It sounded rational at first, but Jace snorted.
“Then you should’ve said the same when it was Mabel.”
Of course Cornel didn’t hear that.
Seeing Eupina’s teary eyes, he puffed himself up and spoke even louder.
“There’s no way Eupina would steal her cousin’s invention! Do you really think she just memorized parts to cover it up? She’s the daughter of a family with a long scholarly tradition! This kind of invention would be nothing for her!”
“…”
“Isn’t that right, Eupina? You told me yourself. That you’re greater than Baron Metokan, that you’ve already made things far more impressive than this! I haven’t forgotten the vow you made in that rose garden. You’re a genius!”
This was bad.
Jace held his breath.
If he didn’t, he might burst out laughing until he vomited.
If Wilhelmina had been there, she surely would have said of Cornel:
“That guy’s an airheaded character too.”
Cornel was a boy living in a flower field.
And that was something neither Eupina, nor Mabel, nor even Jace had realized.
