EP.6

“It’s nice to see you again.”

The Avengers are back, or rather, our craft master task force of the territory.

To fulfill the request from the Bluewell Duke Family, I had to gather the artisans once more.

If I had my way, I would have liked to whip something up quickly and send it off, but that would certainly lead to trouble.

‘Could Sir Rupert be insulting our Bluewell family?’

If the female protagonist, who had stood her ground even before the Third Prince, were to question me about the quality of the book, there would be no way out.

‘She is indeed exceptionally beautiful.’

Had I been reincarnated without any knowledge of the “youngest son of the imperial family,” I might have lost my mind at her stunning appearance.

With her blue hair and sea-sparkling sky-blue eyes, she definitely possessed an otherworldly beauty not found on Earth.

‘So Rupert does have an eye for women’s appearances.’

Her looks gave a sense of reasoning for why the original owner of this body, Rupert, was likely managed like a catch.

“So, should I assume that this time we only need to create one copy?”

Hearing that the artisans believed they were simply tasked with making a single copy of the *Cinderella* storybook for the Bluewell Duke Family, their expressions showed some disappointment. Last time, the work was quite rewarding compared to the effort, so they probably welcomed the summons.

Upon hearing that it was simply one copy this time, they must have felt it was a pity.

“No, the book for the duke will be made separately, and I plan to create about 100 copies this time.”

At my words, the expressions of everyone gathered changed.

“Young Master, did you say 100 copies? That’s truly….”

It was indeed a surprising amount. Last time, it had been merely 10 copies, but now it was suddenly ten times that number at 100.

However, since I had made up my mind to do it, I decided to clear out any annoying issues going forward.

‘Surely after giving this book to the duke, something big will follow.’

With a duke, the number of nobles involved would be on a whole different level compared to local lords like us.

Thus, visits from nobles or merchants could multiply or even explode following this event.

Rather than risking my pleasant life in this new world, it would be better to create a large batch and resolve it all at once.

“However, I will significantly lower the quality of the 100 copies made this time.”

I wasn’t just speaking about the quality of the materials.

I also had to compromise on the quality of the illustrations.

‘Drawing a different Cinderella for all 100 copies? Even pulling all-nighters for a month might not be sufficient.’

Moreover, during the last book creation, I had hastily used the finest materials simply out of excitement.

The truth is, there’s no need to use such high-quality materials for a children’s storybook, so this time, I decided to stick to a more reasonable standard.

Of course, I wouldn’t settle for cheap materials.

While it might regretfully feel disappointing not to gift children a book made just for them, reality demands certain compromises.

Still, wouldn’t it be better for many kids to be happy rather than just a few? That was my reasoning.

*

“Still, I found some decent-quality lamb leather! If it’s this quality!”

“If it’s not from the royal stable, mixing in stone powder for durability is better and won’t smear.”

“Actually, even wool thread would be sufficient; it doesn’t necessarily have to be silk.”

Having already experienced the book-making process once, the artisans gathered and discussed among themselves, progressing smoothly without needing any direction from me.
In the process, there were actually many improvements. Since it’s for children, the paper in the royal stable was too sharp, so we made enhancements in that regard, and we applied a waterproof coating with wax on the cover leather, which I hadn’t thought to do last time.

When I gifted the newly created high-quality *Cinderella* storybook to Aida, she brought it to the meal time and once spilled water on it.

‘No!!!’

I didn’t know that Aida could make such a face.

Thinking back to how much trouble I had because Aida cried with a face identical to Munch’s *The Scream*, it was indeed a necessary task.

“This is satisfactory enough.”

Having done this work once before, even with various modifications, the sample was quickly completed, and now all that remained was to head to the Magic Tower to print the book and create the 100 copies.

Seeing the butler take the manuscript of the Cinderella edition, which contained my hard work, to the Magic Tower, I finally felt a bit relieved.

Now, only the handmade copy for the youngest lady of the Bluewell Duke Family was left. Since this couldn’t be mass-produced, there was no time to rest, so I sat back at my desk, picked up a pen, and examined the photograph.

‘Is this blue hair and sky-blue eyes characteristic of the Bluewell family?’

The photo I received from the Duke’s Family of ‘Evelyn Bluewell’ looked just like a younger version of Amelia.

I needed to recreate Cinderella based on the original photograph, but as it turned out, the completed drawing looked.

‘This is totally Amelia Bluewell.’

It was an exact match with the appearance of the protagonist, Amelia.

I feel somewhat guilty saying this, but perhaps because the original model was so good, it turned out to be the most convincing illustration of all that I had drawn so far.

“Aida wants blue hair too!”

Aida, who was looking at the drawing I made, suddenly got pouty and grumbled, which clearly showed that a good model made a great drawing.

“You can’t have blue hair. You look cute with blonde hair instead.”

While gently patting Aida’s head as she whined for me to draw her with blue hair, I carefully looked over the drawing.

I worried that it might lead to misunderstandings.

What if, like in the original story, Rupert’s infatuation with Amelia was interpreted as me creating a drawing for her? I was concerned it might complicate things unnecessarily.

‘Anyway, once I hand over the storybook, we probably won’t meet again.’

Although I felt a slight unease about the setting of the Imperial Academy, where the events of the story take place, I thought that with the Third Prince and other male characters around, it was unlikely I would encounter them again.

Putting my concerns aside, I continued to draw Cinderella and wrapped it up.

*

“I like my sister the best!”

Upon Evelyn’s words, the expression of the Bluewell Duke, who seemed to say, “What about me?” showed he was already forgotten in the sisters’ eyes.

It was the Duke who sent substantial rewards to the Somerset family to thank them for creating the book, but that didn’t matter much to Evelyn.

What mattered most to Evelyn was that her sister was the best for personally fetching this *Cinderella* storybook just for her.

“Shall I read the storybook to you?”

“Yes!”

I wondered how long it had been since I ordered the book—perhaps about a week?

‘When will the book arrive?’

‘Our precious one will have it after sleeping for ten nights?’

‘But I’ve already slept for ten nights!’

When I mentioned it would take about ten days, she closed her eyes ten times and opened them, urging that it had been ten nights and asking when the book would come.

Finally, the arrived book was surely beautiful enough to captivate children at first glance.

From the cover of the book, the prince and Cinderella were depicted.
As I opened the cover to read to Evelyn, beautiful, vividly colored illustrations appeared on the pages.

“What is this…?”

“Hey! It’s sister!”

The first page featured the protagonist, Cinderella.

Amelia was taken aback by the depiction of Cinderella, who had the characteristic blue hair and sky-blue eyes of the Bluewell family.

Though several artists had painted her portrait before, this was the first time she had seen such an illustration.

“What is this picture?! Could it be that the second son of Count Somerset drew this of you?”

The Duke of Bluewell, who had been glancing at the excitement of his daughters, fumed upon seeing the illustration.

With various rascals already bothering his daughter, he was concerned that this time, someone had managed to capture her likeness in a painting.

It was clear to him that yet another was infatuated with Amelia.

“Understood. Then I will send it to the family once it’s completed. It was a pleasure meeting you, my lady.”

Ignoring the Duke’s uproar, Amelia recalled her first meeting with Rupert.

It was hard to believe that he had created such a warm and heartfelt storybook, given how cold he had been.

‘Was he just nervous?’

Thinking about Rupert, who had sent a drawing featuring her as a model, made even his previously sharp face appear rather cute.

*

“My Young Master, if you leave it to our guild!”

“What do you mean? Our guild is the best in Boleus….”

“We….”

Alain, the butler of the Somerset family, suddenly realized that the reception room of the mansion had not been empty in a long time.

After the head of the family, Count Somerset, was swindled and their finances fell into disarray, the aristocrats they had previously interacted with stopped coming by, leaving only creditors to frequent the reception room.

Alain turned his head to watch Rupert, who was leisurely sipping tea on the sofa in the reception room.

‘The Young Master has changed.’

Having cared for Rupert since his birth, Alain had seen him grow.

Rupert had always been kind-hearted and loved his family, but to be honest, he could never be described as bold.

‘He was rather timid, in fact.’

Especially after the passing of his mother, the Countess of Somerset, Rupert had secluded himself in his room, only painting.

Ever since he regained consciousness after the fall, he seemed to behave as if he were a different person.

He would ask basic questions about their circumstances, alternating between periods of clarity and confusion, and he began to assess the family’s financial situation.

Deciding to create a storybook for his sister Aida, he even sold the family’s books.

Now, he was holding a competition to grant the right to sell the books he had created to merchants.

“Silence! I will grant the right to sell the books to the guild that offers the highest price for the sales proceeds!”

In the midst of seasoned merchants, who had experienced all sorts of difficulties and triumphs, Rupert led the atmosphere without any hesitation.

Although his transformed appearance felt foreign to Alain, he also saw it as a glimmer of hope for the Somerset family, which would have otherwise continued to decline.

‘Lady, is this your doing?’

Alain suddenly thought of the late Countess of Somerset, who had passed away from illness.

With her last words, she had entrusted him with Rupert and the infant Aida, and while he felt he had failed to uphold that promise for a while, now he felt optimistic about their future.