Translator: CinderTL
The seeds of science had taken root in the soil of this alien world.
Paul nearly laughed aloud, but he forcibly suppressed the upward curve of his lips.
After Derson finished speaking, Cecil frowned. "Six months? If the Stonemason Clan has truly allied with the orcs, can we afford to wait that long?"
Paul leaned back in his chair, his gaze drifting toward the Weiss Academy visible through the window.
"We can afford to wait," he said calmly. "Crystal Glare has made it clear they won't support further large-scale military campaigns. The king wishes to consolidate his power and rebuild the nation. We cannot go against the tide."
He turned back to Derson. "Therefore, there's no need to rush the development of the new explosives. We can proceed at a slower, more deliberate pace."
His tone turned serious. "Moreover, these substances are far too dangerous. Mercury fulminate detonates spontaneously, picric acid corrodes metal... Their experiments are like walking on a knife's edge. To us, each researcher is a hen that lays golden eggs."
Cecil paused, then nodded in understanding.
"Reinforce laboratory safety measures," Paul ordered. "Install additional isolation walls and establish emergency fire suppression and evacuation protocols. All high-risk experiments must be conducted under dual supervision, with zero tolerance for casualties. If anyone gets hurt, I'll not only hold them accountable but also shut down the entire project."
He stood up, his voice softening slightly. "Let them pursue their research freely, but don't let them gamble their lives for progress. Science isn't a sacrifice; it's an accumulation."
"Yes, Lord Grayman!" Derson nodded, taking notes.
Paul concluded, "Tell Wells and Hoffman—I'm proud of them. But they must remember: Alden Town's future lies not in the explosive power of a single blast, but in the value of each day they live."
As twilight deepened, the front courtyard of the Alden Town Lord's Manor, which had served as a makeshift office, finally quieted down as staff members gradually departed.
Paul rubbed his temples and walked through a series of long corridors into the inner quarters. Candle flames flickered gently in the copper sconces along the walls, casting his slightly weary silhouette in a soft glow.
"My lord," the old butler, Phillip, said quietly but clearly, appearing as if from nowhere beneath the corridor eaves. "Madam has returned."
"What? Did Catherine go out?"
"Uh... I meant your mother."
Paul stopped in his tracks and looked up at the butler. "Mother?"
"Yes, she arrived just moments ago and is waiting in the east hall."
Paul immediately quickened his pace. As he pushed open the carved wooden doors of the east hall, a woman in a long robe stood with her back to him, gazing at the dancing flames in the fireplace. The familiar silhouette warmed his heart.
"Mom," he murmured softly.
Marianna turned around, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes trembling slightly in the firelight.
She hurried forward and grasped Paul's arms, looking him up and down. "You've lost weight. It seems the burdens on your shoulders have been heavier than I imagined."
"I'm used to it," Paul said with a smile. "What matters is that you've returned safely. That puts my mind at ease."
The mother and son settled on the sofa before the fireplace. Phillip personally served them hot tea before retreating. The crackling flames cast flickering shadows, highlighting their strikingly similar features.
Paul lifted his teacup, his voice deepening in the rising steam. "Will you be leaving again?"
Marianna hesitated, then shook her head gently. "I'm sorry, Paul. There are still things I must do. Fate has decreed that I can only watch you grow from afar, watching you walk paths I could never have imagined."
After a brief silence, Paul nodded. "Very well."
A sudden smile lit his face. "Oh, while you're here, about your identity... Only Father's old subordinates knew the truth before. But now, at least my wives should know."
"Wives?" Marianna's brow furrowed slightly. "You... you've married other women?"
The last time she'd seen him, Catherine had been his only wife. Had he...?
Catherine, the proud and haughty Princess of Aldor, would never tolerate her husband taking another woman. Marianna was utterly astonished.
Paul suddenly realized his clumsy phrasing and fell silent. He had intended to ease into the topic gradually, but he had forgotten that his mother knew nothing about soul space.
Marianna's gaze sharpened. "When did you marry someone else? Does Catherine know?" She didn't want her son to jeopardize his relationship with the Aldor Royal Family over such a matter.
Paul forced a wry smile. "The situation is... complicated. Once you understand the full story, you won't be so surprised."
Marianna stared at him, the firelight dancing in her eyes. She seemed to have a thousand questions swirling in her mind, yet couldn't decide where to begin.
"Let's start at the beginning—Alvey from the Scholars' Tower of Gabella came to me."
"Alvey?" Marianna exclaimed, her voice rising in alarm. "What's he doing in Northwest Bay? Isn't Emperor Antonio hunting him down? This is just asking for trouble!"
"Listen to me, Paul," Marianna warned sternly, her brow furrowed. "Expel him immediately!"
"Is it because the Emperor sent assassins after him?" Paul asked with a smile.
"How did you know?! Has it already happened?!" Marianna exclaimed.
"Yes. That night, after the Academic Conference in Alden Town concluded, I went to visit Alvey, who was staying there temporarily. Then an assassin appeared—a woman named Frostine."
Marianna paused, slightly taken aback. She hadn't heard of Frostine before. She knew Antonio had sent the Ice Witch Coleridge to hunt down Alvey, but to ensure success, the Emperor might have dispatched multiple assassins.
Paul continued calmly, "She ambushed Alvey and us!"
Marianna shot to her feet, her voice urgent. "You were injured? Damn it! If only I had been there with you!"
Ah? If Marianna had been there... Stop it, stop it! Paul forced himself to suppress the thought.
"Please calm down, I wasn't hurt. Ladia, however, was severely injured protecting me. But at that moment, some mysterious protective magic within her activated—a type of magic unique to the Serdan royal family from another continent."
"Did you know, Ladia and Queen Isabella of the Serdan people are... they're hetero-soulmates! I still don't understand how it works, but their souls and perceptions are linked, which is why Ladia can trigger that mysterious magic."
Marianna frowned slightly, a flicker of astonishment in her eyes. "Hetero-soulmates... that's a legendary phenomenon, said to exist only in myths!"
She was familiar with the Serdan people. During her last visit to Northwest Bay, Paul's Global Exploration Fleet had just returned, and news of the other continent and its wondrous foreign races had spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys of Alden Town.
"It was precisely that magical force that pulled the critically injured Ladia and those around her—me, Catherine, Eileen, and Frostine—into a purely spiritual realm, a space constructed entirely of mental energy. There, we encountered Queen Isabella of Serdan, who should have been on the other continent."
(End of the Chapter)
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