episode_0173

“Master, do you really have to go?”

Edric stays at Somerset Manor like last time during the vacation.

He was watching Rupert pack his bags and trying to dissuade him as if he was worried about something.

“Adrian asked me to do this, and I have never been outside the Empire before, so I think this is a good opportunity.”

At Rupert’s words, Edric found it difficult to dissuade him any longer.

‘Adrian, you have precious time to talk about comics with your professor!’

As for Edric, he couldn’t help but feel regretful.

It was a precious time when he could have shown Rupert the cartoon he was working on and asked for advice, but that was taken away.

“Please be careful. You were invited by royalty, so they will be careful, but Sylvania does not have good feelings toward the Empire.”

But since he couldn’t stop Rupert who had decided to go, it was Edric who gave him some advice.

“Yes, that’s why Her Highness the Princess sent special escort.”

“Are you talking about your older sister?”

Edric was a little surprised when Rupert told him that his older sister Ioline had sent him as an escort.

‘Well, if you’re my older sister.’

When a member of the royal family assigns someone to be their personal bodyguard, it means that they trust that person greatly.

So, sending the royal escort to someone else was impossible without the emperor’s permission.

Edric figured there wouldn’t be any problems since the target was Rupert.

Edric also knew that Rupert had declared to the Emperor in front of him that he would be made an honorary duke in ten years and marry Iolin.

‘I’m glad that my teacher is my brother-in-law, but it’s a shame that he’s my older sister.’

Edric stroked his forehead with his hand.

He doesn’t have any scars now, but just recently he had a large bump on his forehead.

‘It is the law of the world that traitors are punished, little brother.’

Edric, who had been helping Iolin with her swordsmanship training for several months, ended up allowing her to strike him, despite her having improved beyond recognition.

Of course, she hadn’t yet surpassed Edric’s skills, but it was a disaster caused by Edric’s carelessness and inability to show sincerity to his older sister.

‘Evil!! Where is the way to hit a fallen opponent!’

‘Where did you get the excuse of being sick? Do you think I don’t recognize your steely body?’

Of course, it would have been less painful if she had returned her precious collection that she had plundered from Iolin.

‘I guess I’ll just have to hit it with my body.’

Edric, who had endured the barrage of wooden swords from Iolin, thinking that this was not a bad price for a limited edition, ended up getting hit hard.

‘Is this really the end?’

‘It’s okay. I’ve already gotten something more precious.’

Iolin smiled with satisfaction as she answered Edric’s question, saying that it would be too sad if the limited edition was taken away again after being hit like this.

‘Perhaps that precious thing is referring to the Master.’

Iolin seemed to have no doubt that Rupert would achieve great things and become an honorary duke.

“Teacher, the advice I can give you as a younger sister is to never argue with your older sister.”

“Yes?”

“You should try to resolve this through dialogue as much as possible.”

Rupert looked confused at Edric’s advice, but Edric could not give any more detailed advice.

If Iolin found out about this, he might show up with a real sword instead of a wooden one.

“It’s not a long schedule, so I’ll go and look at Edric’s work again when I get back.”

“Thank you, Master.”

After Rupert finished speaking, he left the mansion, and Edric was left alone in the workshop on the third floor of the studio, drawing cartoons while continuing to think about his plans.

‘The drawing itself is good enough, but who would have thought that what I drew could come to life and move?’

Edric recalled what had happened a while ago.

-The Iron-Blooded Alchemist anime adaptation has been decided!

When he heard the news that the currently airing anime would be followed by the next work, , he couldn’t hide his excitement.

If I had to pick his favorite cartoon characters, they would be Elsa from and Windy from .

Among them, Elsa was the one who had already been seen countless times at the Somerset Theatre.

Of course, I even bought an animation projector that was only for the nobility, so I still watch it whenever I have time.

And the news that this time he could see Windy in animation made Edric very enthusiastic.

‘When will I ever turn the cartoons I draw into animation?’

Rupert said that not only his own works but also works serialized in Manapia will be serialized into animations.

That was Edric’s immediate goal.

Sigh.

At first, I was awkward at drawing, but now I can draw pretty well.

‘As I said last time, the characters in Mr. Edric’s work seem really alive. This is a big plus.’

Although he was criticized for still having some shortcomings in terms of story and directing, Edric was encouraged by the story that things were getting better.

“Shall we take a walk?”

To make up for his weaknesses, Edric constantly reads other works and practices drawing every day.

Edric, who had been practicing his drawing for a while, decided to leave the studio for a moment to move around and take a walk in the garden of Somerset Manor.

but,

Pot!

‘What is this sound?’

While strolling through the garden for a while, Edric sensed a secret presence in a corner of the mansion.

It was a subtle movement that even the most skilled knights would miss, so Edric instantly became alert.

‘This is clearly the movements of assassins?’

This stealth, moving without sound, was the exclusive property of those who had entered the world of darkness.

Edric reached for the sword at his waist and headed towards where he had felt the presence.

‘It’s been helpful to always carry it with me since that day.’

After Satanael’s previous raid on Somerset, Edric thought it was a good idea to always carry a sword with him in case something happened.

‘It may be small, but please consider it as compensation for your help.’

Edric, who received the sword as a gift, one of the masterpieces created by the dwarf Krun, treasured it.

There were many good swords in the imperial court, but none suited him so well.

And with that sword ready to be drawn at any moment, Edric arrived at the source of the noise.

‘This place is….’

The place where Edric’s footsteps arrived was none other than Krun’s personal workshop.

‘That place is Krun’s personal space. It is used for research and creating new things, so no one is allowed in.’

Having been to Somerset Manor several times, Edric knew how precious the place was.

Although Krun himself probably doesn’t know it, rumors about Somerset’s cellar are currently circulating in the Empire.

‘Have you heard the rumor that there are dwarves and elves kidnapped in the Somerset family’s cellars?’

‘Oh, that? I heard that too. They lock you in the basement and torture you if you can’t create something new.’

It was a ridiculous rumor that arose because of the Somerset Workshop, which produced new things every day.

But it wasn’t an entirely baseless rumor, as the space that served as the basement was none other than Krun’s personal workshop.

‘Are they sent from another higher level?’

Edric also tried to hide his presence as much as possible and quietly approached the door of Krun’s workshop.

He was convinced that they were probably sent by House Summerset and other merchants to steal the technology of the Uren Merchant.

And the lock on the workshop door was open as if it was nothing.

‘Opening a lock that looks incredibly complicated without breaking it… .’

Edric raised his evaluation of his opponent.

-Your Majesty, the truly fearsome of the Assassins are not the quick and nimble.

This is because he remembered what his master, Geomseong, who taught him swordsmanship, had said.

-True assassins are actually skilled in other skills. Some can open even the most complex locks without anyone knowing they’ve been there.

Edric was nervous, knowing that this intruder would definitely be a formidable opponent.

I know that I shouldn’t have personally taken part in such a dangerous undertaking.

‘I will guard Somerset while the Master is away!’

Since there was no escape route, Edric steeled himself and kicked open the door.

***

“The Creator did not give me a name.”

“What is the Creator?”

Ada frowned as she looked at the doll that was using difficult words that she didn’t even know.

“In simple terms, it means the person who created me.”

“Then Krun?”

“Of course, he also created me, but I was created according to Xenia’s will.”

Ada had difficulty understanding the doll’s speech.

So, leaving the painful story aside, I took out the new book I had brought and opened it up.

“This is something my brother made for me!”

“Rudolph?”

“Yeah! This story is about a deer with a red nose… .”

“The nose of a deer varies from individual to individual, but is usually brown and cannot be red.”

“No! If we have an older brother, we have it!”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

The doll, who didn’t even have a name yet, opened the book Ada had brought called “Rudolph” and began to read.

Every time Ada came to see me, she would bring back interesting things.

Usually, they were books made by her brother, but sometimes he would bring her dictionaries and other books at her request.

Thanks to the fact that I studied by reading books on my own while Ada was away, I can now speak naturally.

“Boom!”

“What the heck, Rash! Why are you barking all of a sudden?”

Ada, who was reading the newly brought Rudolph storybook with her doll, suddenly heard the barking sound of Ratchet.

“There is an intruder.”

The doll could also sense that someone had entered the workshop at the same time as Ratchet’s barking.

‘I am neither a master nor a Krun.’

He already remembered the biological responses of Ada and Rash, including the two of them.

‘We must eliminate the intruders and ensure Ada’s safety.’

It was a doll about to have its security system, which Xenia had planted without her knowledge, activated.