Recently, trends among children in the Empire have been changing rapidly.

Until not long ago, children, whether commoners or nobles, were busy imitating characters from The Kingdom of Ice.

Parents had to memorize entire dialogues from The Kingdom of Ice because their children begged them to buy Elsa dresses and waved wands, asking them to play along.

However, recently another trend emerged.

“Equivalent exchange!!!”

“I am Edmund Eldrick, the Iron-Blooded Alchemist certified by the Empire!”

“Look, I copied the transmutation circle exactly as it appears in the book!”

The children were captivated by the new manga The Iron-Blooded Alchemist and were engrossed in mimicking its content.

Unlike before, when girls mainly were enthusiastic, this time, it was the boys who were thrilled.

Though it made one wonder why it was even called alchemy, it was easy to find boys waving sticks and reciting lines.

The more surprising thing was that not only children but even adults were making The Iron-Blooded Alchemist a topic of conversation.

Though they didn’t imitate the dialogue like the children, they were often seen in taverns, engaging in serious debates about whether the Iron-Blooded Alchemist was the strongest or whether the Flame Alchemist, who appeared at the end of Volume 1, was more powerful.

While everyone was enjoying The Iron-Blooded Alchemist in their own way, there was one place that couldn’t afford to laugh.

That place was the Alchemy Guild.

The headquarters of the Alchemy Guild was located in the capital of the Borus Empire, Caldea.

Usually, the place was relatively quiet, with alchemists coming for materials and merchants buying potions and other products.

Until last week.

“I'm not just asking for your secrets for free. I’ve brought enough compensation, so please tell me!!!”

“I’m sorry, but we have no knowledge of human transmutation.”

Harun, the Empire’s top alchemist and head of the Alchemy Guild, was on the verge of madness from the recent flood of visitors.

‘Human transmutation? I’ve never heard of such a horrible thing.’

If it were just random visitors, they would have been kicked out immediately, but the problem was that high-ranking nobles were among the visitors.

If it wasn’t Count Christian demanding knowledge about human transmutation, he would have been thrown out immediately.

“Hmph, then what is the content in this book? Are you saying it’s really false?!”

“That is….”

Yes, that damn book was the root of all the problems.

A manga thought to be just for kids.

But he remembered being so surprised when he bought the new manga titled The Iron-Blooded Alchemist out of curiosity and read it.

‘Where on earth did it find those unknown components of the human body and that transmutation circle?’

If it were absurd, it could have been dismissed as fiction, but surprisingly, the content in the manga was partly true.

Especially the components of the human body were filled with things they hadn’t fully identified yet.

The manga accurately described them, which sent chills down his spine.

Moreover, the transmutation circles depicted were not just nonsense.

They were clearly shaped like transmutation circles but included new elements.

Some young alchemists locked themselves in, claiming it was new knowledge, proving it was not just a book for kids.

‘Rebound… this is surely a side effect associated with forbidden alchemy and secret arts.’

It was still in the speculative stage, but he couldn’t help but think the author of this book knew about forbidden or ancient lost alchemy.

Rupert Somerset.

Harun etched that name into his memory. He was undoubtedly someone who knew and hid something.

For such a person to embed this vision in a book read by many people surely meant he was planning something.

“Rupert, what on earth are you…?”

Alex couldn’t stop his tears.

He was overwhelmed with emotion after seeing the new manga The Iron-Blooded Alchemist that Rupert published.

A father who left home, a mother and siblings left behind.

The scene where the brothers, having lost their mother to illness, reached for the forbidden art of human transmutation left the Crown Prince sobbing.

“Were you also that desperate? It wasn’t just me.”

When he lost his mother as a child, he cried every night, longing for her.

He would have done anything if someone could have brought her back.

No one else could understand the brothers’ feelings in this manga as he did.

Why they committed such a dangerous act.

If there had been an adult, yes, if their father had been there, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.

“Why was there no adult by those brothers to stop them?”

When he imagined his father, the Emperor, as the absent father in the manga, the brothers became even more pitiable, and anger welled up.

As he read the rest of the manga, Alex thought:

‘I hope these brothers can have a happy ending.’

“‘Are you the Eldrick brothers, the brother alchemists of this village? I am Lloyd Cavallo, an Empire-certified alchemist.’”

“How can it end here…? It will be a long time before the next volume comes out.”

Iolyn was lying face down, reading the manga under her blanket, concealing a magic lamp.

She wanted to read it in the bright room during the day, but she had no choice but to read it like this.

‘Your Highness, the princess, you should not be sending servants to fetch books or calling the Somerset's second son.’

This was due to the special measures taken by the head servant, Eiton.

At first, Iolyn had protested, saying it was too much.

‘The servant who went to fetch the limited edition of The Kingdom of Ice caught a cold from camping outside for three days. The old you would have noticed this first.’

That left her speechless.

The servant had indeed suffered due to her insisting on getting the limited edition of The Kingdom of Ice, and it was entirely her fault.

It was true that she couldn’t discern right from wrong when it came to Rupert’s books.

She had sent letters revealing her identity when she didn’t like the content or even summoned him directly.

The princess had no excuse for overworking the servant.

‘If you don’t see it for a while, you’ll find peace again. Please bear with it a little longer.’

Since then, the princess really tried to restrain herself. However, seeing the dejected princess, the guard, feeling sorry, saw it as an opportunity.

‘Your Highness, if you wish, I can try to get the book.’

‘You? No… I heard this new release is more popular than usual. You might have to wait for days….’

‘Haha, that’s nothing. It’s just a simple task for someone like me who’s undergone rigorous knight training. Leave it to me!’

Indeed, as he boasted, he managed to secretly deliver the newly released manga The Iron-Blooded Alchemist, which was said to be particularly hard to obtain, to Iolyn.

Thus, she could read it secretly during bedtime, the only time she could avoid the eyes of Eiton and the maids, and she was both happy and sad.

“The next volume… Why isn’t there a next volume!!!”

“Hmm, aromatic.”

Not being able to drink coffee as a modern person is a very sad thing.

Especially for a webtoon artist who used coffee and caffeine drinks as a staple instead of water.

Coffee existed in this world as well. However, since coffee was produced in extremely limited regions, its price was more expensive than Ceylon imported from the East, so I couldn’t afford it until now.

But who am I?

“The monstrous heir who managed to pay off the family’s debts can afford to indulge in coffee.”

In fact, just the sales revenue from the fairy tale books was enough to settle the family’s debts, but there were quite a few expenses, like banquets and other expenditures here and there.

It wasn’t until after the publication of The Iron-Blooded Alchemist that I was able to clear all the debts.

So now I was savoring an expensive coffee in celebration of my success.

‘Oh… No!!! Pouring cold water and ice into coffee!’

I remembered Alain’s cry when he made coffee, saying that the late countess, Rupert’s mother, enjoyed it when the family was still wealthy.

The coffee Alain brought was like a thick espresso shot.

I turned it into iced Americano without hesitation, and Alain screamed.

‘You don’t understand. Alain would also realize it if he tasted iced Americano in the summer.’

Of course, it’s winter now, but Koreans stick to iced Americano no matter what.

I can’t even imagine blowing on hot coffee to drink it.

“I want some too!”

Ada quietly approached, seeing me drink coffee and asked for some, staring at the cup in my hand.

‘She wouldn’t even look me in the eye out of sulking.’

I sat Ada on my lap and carefully handed her the cup.

I had hidden the manuscript because the newly released manga The Iron-Blooded Alchemist seemed too early for Ada.

She was sulking and wouldn’t answer or make eye contact, but now she clung to me quietly, curious about the coffee or had she just gotten over it.

“Yuck! What is this? It’s not tasty….”

Ada took a sip of the cold coffee and grimaced, spitting it out.

“Ada, even though your brother drinks it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I don’t care, give me something sweet!”

I had no choice but to retrieve a candy hidden in my desk drawer at Ada’s demand.

“That’s it for today, okay?”

Ada nodded and unwrapped the candy wrapper.

The other day, when that strange guest saw Ada’s plump body and messy dress, they were horrified and scolded the maid.

Since then, Ada’s Elsa dress and snacks had been confiscated, so she had to make do with what I secretly gave her.

‘Whoever it was, how dare they slander cute Ada like this.’

Even considering that kids of this age have baby fat, she was a little chubby, but that was her charm point.

I reached out and pinched Ada’s cheek as she chewed the candy.

She made a strange sound and tried to resist, but already captivated by the candy, she soon gave up and complied.

“Ada, do you want to read a fairy tale?”

“A fairy tale?”

Ada nodded at my words.

Her words struck me. The reason I started making fairy tales was originally for Ada.

At some point, I forgot the purpose and drew only what I wanted, not realizing Ada was getting bored.

‘Haa… I need to work on the second volume of The Iron-Blooded Alchemist, but making a fairy tale would be tough.’

Now that I think about it, the trading company owner also said other companies started making fairy tales besides mine.

Although not threatening yet, he said a decent fairy tale could come out anytime.

“What kind of story would you like to see, Ada?”

“Umm… I don’t know!”

So confident. She reminded me of the most troublesome type of client I encountered as a freelancer before drawing webtoons.

I tried to recall fairy tales I knew, but none stood out.

I excluded the brutal ones and had already used romantic tales with princesses like Cinderella, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid.

Wait, why did I forget this?

A fairy tale that comes to mind during cold winters.

Moreover, it’s not long and is educational despite being sad for children.

“Ada, I’ll quickly make a fairy tale book for you!”

“Really?”

Ada beamed and hugged me tightly.

I flinched as Ada’s face touched my neck, remembering the last time she bit me.

But now, Ada was hugging me and shouting that I was the best.

Wait, I’ll make you cry soon.

I was already looking forward to creating the fairy tale book.