Dolan had not been able to sleep a single wink for days. His wife, unable to bear watching him, had begged him to please get some sleep, but it was no use. Even when he forced himself to lie down, his mind stayed wide awake and his eyes would not close. It was a grief he could not bear.

After another night spent with his eyes wide open, Dolan dragged his heavy feet to the forge before sunrise. It was a path he had always walked with light steps, as if walking on clouds, but today every step felt heavy and hopeless, as though he were wearing shoes made of iron.

“Haa…….”

Dolan swept his tear-filled eyes around the forge office. It was a space packed full of things he had made over the years, yet strangely it felt empty and hollow, as if it were completely bare.

“……Oh, my lady. Oh dear……. What are we to do, our poor lady.”

When he had first heard that the young lady was in critical condition, his heart had dropped, but he had believed without doubt that she would get through it this time as well, just as she had overcome countless crises until now. Besides, there were two excellent doctors in Wintfall, and even two great mages, so he thought it was only a matter of time before the young lady recovered her health.

But no matter how much time passed, there was no news that the young lady had recovered, and one day, as he simply stood staring toward the direction of the main castle, thinking it strange, he suddenly heard the news of the young lady’s death.

At first, he thought he had heard wrong.

No way, that can’t be. You must have gotten something wrong.

Those were the first words he had thrown at his sniffling wife. But soon sorrowful cries could be heard from all over, and as if to mock his doubts, black flags were hung all around the castle.

“Haa…….”

Whenever he closed his eyes, the young lady’s face as she lay in the coffin, pale, came to mind. She was not even a child of his own blood, yet it felt so wasteful it was enough to drive him mad. If he was like this, he could not even imagine how the Marquis must feel.

She was someone who had only just been about to soar high.

She was someone who cherished and loved Wintfall more than anyone.

She was someone whose days ahead had still been bright and long, and yet heaven was so heartless……

Go and take the wretches who deserve to die instead.

Lost in such useless thoughts, Dolan thumped a bottle of liquor down onto the table. It was a fine wine he had received from Count Britton, thanks to the young lady’s grace. He had treasured and treasured it, saving it for a special day. It had been a bottle that made him feel good every time he saw it, but now it only filled him with regret.

Lost in such useless thoughts, Dolan thumped a bottle of liquor down onto the table. It was a fine wine he had received from Count Britton, thanks to the young lady’s grace. He had treasured and treasured it, saving it for a special day. It had been a bottle that made him feel good every time he saw it, but now it only filled him with regret.

“If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve drunk it with the young lady long ago.”

The image of the young lady, who, contrary to her appearance, had cheerfully gulped down her liquor in big swallows, came to mind. Dolan was staring blankly at the bottle, wiping away the tears running down his cheeks with his sleeve, when it happened.

Thump, thump, thump!

Someone knocked on the door of his office.

How annoying…….

A thought he had never once had in his life, no matter what he was doing, came to him. Everything felt annoying and meaningless.

Dolan finished wiping his tears, slowly got up, and forced the door open. In the meantime, the morning sun had fully risen, and the world was so bright it made his eyes involuntarily squint. Outside the door stood a tall man with a smile as dazzling as the morning sunlight. It was a face he had never once seen inside the main castle.

“Who are you?”

His tone came out brusque on its own, driven by the caution that rose up instinctively. Both his expression and his tone were far removed from kindness, politeness, or courtesy by anyone’s standards, but the young man standing at the door did not lose his smile, as if he were in an excellent mood. From his clothes, he was clearly a noble, but with the young lady gone, Dolan did not wish to be kind to anyone.

The man said nothing.

“I asked who you are! Do you have any idea where you are, bringing an outsider here so carelessly!”

Spotting the Squirrel Mercenary Band standing behind the unfamiliar man like a folding screen, Dolan suddenly shouted at them. It was a completely different attitude from the always-polite Dolan they had known. His anger had already been boiling up to the point it was going to kill him, so in a way, they had come at just the right time.

Even among the forge, this place was classified as a top-secret, first-grade restricted area. There was no way an outsider could just come in here as they pleased.

“Have you been crying?”

The young man asked with an apologetic expression. Dolan’s face twisted even more. It was then that Ciel, who had been quietly watching, stepped forward and tried to calm Dolan, who was practically jumping up and down.

“I have something urgent to say. Let’s go inside first.”

“That will not do!”

Even at Ciel’s words, Dolan’s attitude was firm. He pulled a dagger from his breast and threatened Ciel, glaring fiercely. He knew that no matter how strong he was, he was no match for Ciel, but he could not back down.

Now that the young lady Estella had passed away, Dolan believed the only people who could come in here were the Young Master Luka and the Marquis. No matter that Ciel was the young lady’s husband, there was nothing to be done. To be honest, they had not even properly held a wedding ceremony.

Hostility flickered in Dolan’s bloodshot eyes as he looked at Ciel.

How long has it even been since the young lady passed, and you’re already bringing an outsider into this place? The thought that he must have misjudged Ciel made his anger rise even more.

Estella, who had been quietly watching him, glanced at the Squirrels standing behind her, and when she nodded, they immediately gathered tightly, forming a half-circle behind Estella. Now, the only person who could see Estella, aside from the Squirrels, was Dolan, standing at the wide-open door.

“What in the world are you…….”

Just as Dolan was about to explode in anger, the young man took off the necklace he was wearing.

“Uwaaaah!”

The sturdy young man suddenly turned into the young lady Estella. And not just that, into a very healthy-looking young lady with good color in her cheeks.

Startled out of his wits, Dolan let out a scream and fell flat backward.

Clang!

The sword he had been holding fell to the floor, but he did not even think of picking it up. Estella took a step into the office, bent at the waist, and with a gentle smile held out her hand to Dolan, who had landed on his backside.

“It’s been a while, Dolan. Have you been well?”

“Y-young lady?”

Estella smiled so brightly all her even teeth showed, and Dolan, who had been just blinking blankly, only realized he was not seeing things after she and the Squirrels came inside, closed the door, and he saw the expressions of the Squirrels standing side by side, looking down at him.

Dolan reached out a hand that was trembling uncontrollably, and Estella grasped his thick hand and pulled him up with a strong tug.

“Is it really…… you, my lady?”

When Dolan asked in a voice thick with emotion, Estella nodded vigorously. Judging from her strong grip and her pretty smile, it had to be the young lady, but he could not recklessly believe it. Dolan was as meticulous and thorough as the things he made.

“P-please show me proof.”

No matter that the Squirrel Mercenary Band was with her, he had to say what needed to be said. Because it had suddenly occurred to him that after the young lady’s death, the Squirrel Mercenary Band might have had a change of heart.

Watching Dolan, who could not bring himself to believe her at once, Estella liked him even more.

“I really am Estella.”

“Then……. do you remember what it was you first ordered me to make when you came looking for me, my lady?”

Dolan asked, his eyes still wary as he stared at her.

“You brought a bunch of gold coins and told me to make all the exercise equipment in the training hall.”

The tip of Dolan’s nose instantly turned red. But he sniffled once and went on to the next question.

“……That is correct. But that’s something anyone could find out with a little digging. Then, do you know what present you gave Jad for his birthday, my lady?”

“It was a delicious cake and a tool encyclopedia, wasn’t it?”

Now his big eyes were brimming with tears. But it was still not enough, and Dolan stubbornly held out and asked his next question.

“And what was it that you asked of me that day, my lady?”

Even as tears were dripping down, Dolan did not stop questioning her.

“You asked me to make a prosthetic leg for Count Britton, who gifted you that wine.”

At Estella’s bright reply, Dolan’s face, which had been holding out until now, crumpled.

“Hueeoohhhh! My lady!”

Only then did Dolan burst into loud, childlike sobs and throw his arms around Estella. In that moment he had no reason left to distinguish rank or status or keep up formality.

He was simply joyful and happy, as if a dead child had come back to life. After he had held Estella tightly for a long time, Dolan belatedly realized his discourtesy and quickly stepped back, but this time Estella came over and hugged him tightly.

He was crying so sorrowfully that his solid, sturdy body felt hot to the touch.

“Hueeoohhhh!”

Dolan’s sobs did not stop for quite some time. At Dolan’s unexpected side, when he had always seemed so steadfast and reliable, the Squirrels were flustered at first, then soon they smiled with reddened eyes as they watched the two of them. Only one person, Bruno, once again let his tears stream down his face just like the first time and wiped his eyes with his still not-yet-dry floral handkerchief.

“What in the world happened.”

Only after a long while, once he had calmed down, did Dolan look at Estella with eyes swollen as if two macarons had been stuck on and ask. Even as he was looking at her like this, he could not tell whether this was a dream or reality. Knowing it was rude, he still could not stop himself from repeatedly stroking her warm, tiny hand, calloused though it was.

As he listened to Estella’s explanation, Dolan’s expression hardened, then filled with tears, then flushed red-hot with rage at Aslan, and finally ended again in a flood of tears.

“So then, the only ones who know that you are alive, my lady, are the Marquis, Madam, the Young Master, and the knights here, is that correct?”

“Yeah. And Ria.”

“Of course, Ria has to know too. You have no idea how my heart was in my throat, thinking Ria was going to follow you in death as well.”

Dolan shuddered, remembering Ria’s face, sunk in despair as if she truly would die. Ria might not have been as much as the young lady, but to him she too was precious, like a daughter, like a niece.

“As I said earlier.”

“Yes! Absolutely! Even if a blade is pressed to my throat, I will not tell a soul.”

“Sorry for deceiving you.”

“Please don’t say such things! I am just so happy that you are alive like this, my lady, it feels as though I’ve received all the blessings I could ever receive in this lifetime.”

Dolan, who was smiling and crying at the same time, suddenly sprang up from his seat.

“My lady, would you like to see the completed gun?”

He asked with a still-red face, smiling. Even in the madness of despair, he felt it had all been worth it to complete the gun.

“Yeah. I want to see it.”

“I shall escort you!”

Dolan’s steps, as he went into the forge’s secret workshop, were once again as light as if he were walking on clouds. It felt as though the huge boulder that had been lodged in his chest had melted away cleanly.

The place where the completed gun was kept was located a little deeper in, even within the forge. The forge had gone through several expansion works, but this was a space Estella herself was seeing for the first time, so she felt both expectant and thrilled. It was like going to greet a new recruit in the army.

“My lady, this way.”

Dolan’s face was still damp from tears, and he kept sniffing, but the smile did not leave his face.

At last they reached their destination, and a heavy iron door appeared. From the bluish sheen, it looked like it was made of Nevrion steel.

After checking once more that Estella was standing behind him, Dolan took out a leather cord necklace from inside his clothes. Every time he checked it, he could not stop himself from grinning like a child.

Attached to the leather cord was a rough key.

When Dolan strained and pushed the key to open the door, a screeeak sounded as the hinges groaned under the weight.

A refined scent rushed out from beyond the open door. It was the smell of Nevrion steel that Estella liked, in other words, the smell of victory that would make things stronger than they were now.

You’re all dead.

“Watch your step, the threshold is quite high, my lady.”

Dolan treated Estella as carefully as if handling a child. He fretted that she might trip and did not relax until he had confirmed that Estella had stepped over the threshold.

As soon as he came into the room, Dolan bustled around lighting the lights. It was a space with only a few tiny holes that could barely be called windows, so they needed candles for it to be bright.

In the not-so-wide room, there was only a single table standing there. Seeing Estella’s puzzled look, with nothing in sight, Dolan gave a wicked little grin as if to say not to worry, then pushed the table aside and rolled up the worn carpet spread on the floor. A floor door appeared, and beneath that door, the space where the guns were stored was revealed.

Dolan’s caution in hiding them under so many layers was both endearing and something to be grateful for.

“I hid it away tight, just in case.”

Dolan said as he took the gun out from under the floor and held it out to Estella.

The long gun was neat and clean, with not a single bit of excess. Feeling the heavy grip in her hands, the corners of Estella’s mouth lifted in satisfaction.

To think I’d get to hold this again here.

The long, solid barrel, without a single unnecessary frill, gleamed smoothly, and at the chamber, a device was attached where several thin Nevrion steel rods wrapped a pea-sized Plareon in a circle. The red Plareon gave off a soft light, making it look like ribs protecting a heart.

The buttstock had been smoothly shaped with no sharp edges, so it fit snugly against the shoulder, and the grip and trigger, sized to Estella’s hand, were neither too large nor too small, just right.

It was a weapon in which the precision of an instrument was alive.

“Beautiful.”

“What name will you give it, my lady?”

Dolan, smiling with pride at Estella’s admiration, held out a leather pouch full of bullets and asked. Estella accepted the bullets as carefully as if they were gold coins and answered.

“Thunder.”

“You really are our young lady.”

At that rough naming, slapped on without hesitation to a weapon that was about to shake the world, the brightest smile yet spread across Dolan’s lips.

Chapter 243

Comments