Before going to the Imperial Palace.
Suddenly, one thing made me curious.
'Does taking me to the banquet hall mean she intends to reveal my identity?'
Whether it's making equipment, or enchanting.
Is it okay to show such abilities in front of people?
Curious about Dolores's intention, I subtly asked her before leaving.
"Mama, does that mean I will reveal what I do?"
Dolores smiled gently at that question and calmly explained.
"That depends on who the other party is."
"Depending on the other party…"
"Yes."
She gazed at me intently and asked back.
"Lionel. What do you think a noble's title is given for?"
"I'm not sure."
The family's achievements?
Wealth?
I thought of various answers, but I wasn't particularly convinced.
As I couldn't choose an answer, Dolores raised her index finger and tapped her lips.
Then she winked one eye.
"It is the weight of words."
"The weight of words."
"Yes."
Her voice became softer.
"The higher one's position, the more responsibility and weight follow a single word from their mouth."
"……"
"That's why they don't carelessly pass on words. Rather than lightly spitting out what they heard, they keep it in their bosom and chew on it repeatedly."
The greater the ripple of a single word, the heavier that mouth becomes.
"The mouths of those who think they have dignity… yet lack the weight to match that dignity are the lightest and most dangerous in the world."
To understand her words…
It means that even if I reveal my identity, who I reveal it to is the key.
In front of mediocre people, it would become gossip and bring trouble.
But if it's someone truly high up.
Their mouth is heavy, so it's fine.
"So, Lionel, if you really intend to show your abilities…"
"Please choose someone who can bear that weight."
I resolved to keep those words in mind.
***
Can this woman before me truly bear that truth?
Of course she can, crazy.
There are almost no people higher than her in the Empire.
The meaning of that conversation must be behind why Dolores sent me off so willingly.
"There is something you want to say, isn't there?"
"Yes."
I stared intently into the Imperial Princess's eyes.
[Brother, you might need to lower your eyes…]
I think it's okay.
This could be an expression of trust.
Sometimes it's better not to avoid eye contact.
Her face, caught in my eyes from up close.
A small, delicate frame… She looks older than me, though.
Her sickly complexion is pale, and her wrists are thin.
But strangely, that paleness rather adds a mystique to her.
Should I call it a face that turns frailty into an aura?
Turning even the smallest details into atmosphere is ultimately about looks.
"Your Highness seems to have deep knowledge of accessories."
"…That's sudden. Were my accessories that noticeable?"
Instead of taking it at face value, the Imperial Princess immediately probed my intent.
She didn't seem to want to prolong the conversation either.
"Yes. The necklaces worn by Your Highness and the Imperial Prince stood out in the banquet hall."
"They are quite good accessories."
"…They are good, but."
I subtly denied that.
"There is one thing many people overlook."
"What is it?"
"Those who carry swords or other weapons constantly learn how to use them properly."
I naturally shifted my gaze to the necklace around her neck.
"But for some reason, accessories are thought to end at simply wearing them."
"……"
"Accessories also clearly… have a correct way to be used."
The Imperial Princess's eyes widen slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"It means that if you continue using them like this, it's a contradiction to call them good accessories."
Now that I've come this far, there was no reason to speak indirectly.
I trust her position. For reference, she is Duchess Dolores.
"…Though it's late, let me formally greet you again."
I placed one hand on my chest and bowed my head.
"Under the shadow of the Doloris Ducal Family, in charge of crafting and maintaining equipment."
And slowly raising my head.
"…I am Lionel, a blacksmith."
"…A blacksmith?"
The Imperial Princess furrowed her brow.
For now, there must be more than one or two things she doesn't understand.
He's young, and what, a human dares to discuss blacksmithing?
Most human blacksmiths have long since disappeared.
But it doesn't matter.
I have one surest weapon. It is also a method of proof.
Dolores's existence.
It's simple when you think about it; a Duchess wouldn't keep a kid like this around without reason.
Moreover, she personally brought me to this imperial banquet.
With just that fact, the Imperial Princess cannot help but revise her assessment of me.
Also.
"The Necklace of Moonlight Essence, and the Sun-Rising Pendant."
"…You know their names."
As the names of the two necklaces left my mouth, her eyes wavered.
A simple appraisal can reveal the name and grade of equipment.
A slightly superior and deeper appraisal can even reveal the Origin Script.
However, because it's Unique Equipment, that necklace is one of a kind in the world.
The moment I state the name accurately.
The Imperial Princess will have no choice but to withhold judgment.
Those two pieces of equipment have never been mentioned anywhere in the Community, meaning they've never been revealed.
"Have you ever had such a thought, occasionally?"
"……?"
"That this pendant, far from healing your body…"
I paused for a moment, then quietly added.
"…rather, seems to be harming you."
The Imperial Princess didn't flinch at all, and her emotions didn't show on her face.
Quite the poker face… Surely she isn't truly not suspecting…
[No, brother]
[Her pupils jumped for an instant, very slightly]
I almost let out a sigh of relief.
Yuna's analysis.
She is already bothered by this necklace.
Then this time.
"But there's no evidence of harm anywhere, and you can't take it off, so you just keep wearing it."
"……"
"The appraiser, and probably the doctor, would say there's nothing wrong."
Continuing, I assessed the woman before me.
"If I were to guess…"
The woman before me is an imperial princess in name.
"Your Highness must have had to keep harmful things away from your body since childhood. And you must have learned how to distinguish them."
The Imperial Princess listened quietly.
"But strangely, Your Highness felt inwardly that this necklace was not beneficial, yet you didn't take it off."
"……"
"Because all indicators except intuition say it's fine."
"……"
"Instinct warns, but there's no visible evidence. Your Highness values evidence, so it's not rational to trust intuition. You must have been forcing yourself to ignore that discomfort."
I paused for a beat and refined my words.
This item also pretends to do its job. Pretending to heal the wearer and reassuring them.
Once the essence is depleted, it reveals its true nature.
The Sun-Rising Pendant, well, let's call it a victim.
"Moreover, actually… in the early days of wearing the necklace, you must have even felt lighter. Or else…"
Flinch.
At those words, the Imperial Princess's shoulders flinched.
I concluded in a low voice.
"Your Highness considered the sincerity of the giver… and felt that taking it off would be betraying that feeling, so you kept wearing it."
Perhaps because you couldn't bear to betray the feelings of the one who gifted you a 4-star high-grade accessory.
Someone very important to her.
In the end, instinct warns but there's no evidence.
In fact, both were fine until the essence was completely depleted.
Just when I suddenly felt like I had become the protagonist of a mystery with Assistant Kim Yuna.
The Imperial Princess, who had been quietly watching me, opened her mouth.
"…Continue, please."
There was no great wavering in her expression, but.
I should take this as acknowledgment.
"I enjoy conversation. But I don't want to waste Your Highness's precious time."
I smiled faintly and added.
You find getting involved with others tiresome and boring.
You just came because you were curious about the Duke's son.
But you're telling an interesting story?
'If she is aware of her own intuition to some extent.'
There's no need to drag it out.
Explaining in detail would only ruin the fun.
"Can you give me just one chance?"
"A chance?"
"Please hand me the pendant for a moment."
"……"
The Imperial Princess's eyes narrowed.
Of course, we've only just met, and you want me to hand over something on my body.
And an imperial accessory at that.
"I know very well that this is rude."
Meeting her gaze without looking away.
"Still, seeing once will be faster than 100 words."
She stares at me for a while.
Measuring, and measuring again, but…
When life is at stake, a person can't help but change.
"There are more than one or two things I don't understand."
"I understand."
Slip.
"You shouldn't bring shame to the Duchess's face…"
She brought her hand to her neck.
That will never happen.
I'm confident because this field is my specialty.
Click.
The Imperial Princess's hand undid the clasp, and the pendant was held out to me.
It was around then.
That I noticed all the gazes of the scions in the banquet hall had already turned toward us.
The moment my hand touched the pendant.
Ding!
Suddenly, a notification popped up from the Tower's interface.
[……?!]
[Solau, descendant of the Sun and god who governs the Sun, becomes aware of your existence!]
[I didn't believe it when I heard the news. Truly astonishing.]
What, what is this?
I froze for a moment at the sudden text, but.
'Solau? Solau is the owner of the pendant.'
Why would he speak to me…
Given the situation, I pretended to be unaffected and received the pendant.
Solau whatever isn't important right now.
And I immediately stood up.
"…You're not going to run away like that, are you?"
"I'm not a fast runner."
The place I headed to was something I'd been eyeing for a while.
It was a small flowerpot placed in a corner of the banquet hall.
In that pot was a single small foliage plant.
The reason this pendant can extract vitality from humans to replenish its essence is…
Because humans possess that much abundant life force.
Moreover, being imperial royalty, she must receive countless life force through elixirs and medicine.
But what if the target is not a human, but an infinitely small organism?
It's not a plant rooted outdoors either.
If it's just a plant stuck in a pot, barely surviving in a corner with hardly any sunlight.
Someone might have given it water once in a while when they remembered.
If such a plant is the target… there's no reason it would take long to confirm.
"What are you doing now?"
She is less patient than I thought.
Instead of answering, I stopped in front of the plant.
'I'm sorry.'
Wrap.
I wrapped the Sun-Rising Pendant around it.
And I hid the plant with my back so the scions couldn't see.
At that moment.
-----------------------------
[Special Effect: Lunar Eclipse]
[It begins absorbing the wearer's vitality.]
-----------------------------
[Warning! The wearer's life force is at a dangerous level.]
[Immediate removal warning, immediate removal]
-----------------------------
One, two, three.
How many seconds passed?
Sssss…
One leaf withers and droops.
At first, one.
Rustle.
Next, two leaves turn black.
Sssss…
Third, fourth.
The leaves dried one by one and drooped weakly.
The once green plant began to dry to an ashen color in an instant.
"……!"
The Imperial Princess swallowed her breath.
For the first time today, her expression crumbled.
-----------------------------
[Immediate removal recommended.]
[Immediate removal.]
[Immediate removal.]
-----------------------------
Before the warning even finished.
Rustle.
The plant finished first.
It's a crazy item no matter how many times I see it.
The plant, completely dried up down to the leaves.
In just a few seconds, it was completely drained.
Keeping the plant hidden behind my back, I quietly unwrapped the pendant.
Rustle…
Then I held it out to the Imperial Princess.
Standing up and meeting her gaze, she was a handspan taller than me.
She looks back and forth between the withered flowerpot and my hand.
"Didn't I tell you?"
I smiled faintly and returned those first words.
"If you don't know how to use it, it's a bit of a contradiction to call it a good accessory."
"……"
The Imperial Princess couldn't say anything.
With a pale face, she looked back and forth between the remains of the flowerpot that had been fine just moments ago.
"…How could this happen, there was no magical trick…"
After a long while, the Imperial Princess finally opened her mouth.
I can't use magic, so what magical trick would I use?
It's 100 percent real.
Anyway, I wish I could take the necklace.
Seeing the plant completely drained, the Imperial Princess seemed reluctant to take the necklace back.
Even though she didn't want to give it earlier.
Since I'm holding the Imperial Princess's necklace and making a fuss.
Gazes began to gather toward us, to the point where it might be better to go somewhere else entirely.
Even if the Imperial Princess and Prince are fine, I don't like being seen by others.
"Your Highness, how far can you trust me now?"
"……!"
At that moment, she opened her eyes wide as if realizing something.
"Surely my brother's as well…!"
"Ah……"
I slowly nodded.
"Rather, that one."
"……"
"Is worse."
I only speak facts.
You know, there's a famous saying. The truth is always one.