Chapter 213:
TL: Etude
Inside the ironworks, Paul, along with Burns, Conrad, and others, watched in silent concentration as a red-hot sword blank lay on the workbench.
The blacksmith Herman picked up a hammer and struck the sword blank hard.
A sound of metal shattering followed, and the sword blank turned into fragments.
Shattered as well were the hearts of Paul and Conrad.
Herman said helplessly, My lord, this is the problem. The sword blanks forged cannot withstand hammering. They break apart with the slightest force.
Why? Why is this happening?
Paul was in disbelief. How could the iron he had painstakingly smelted turn into scrap?
Herman, could it be that your skills are lacking?
Count, Ive been forging for over a decade. Most of the blades in the manor were crafted by me.
What went wrong? Paul was getting anxious. He paced back and forth in the room, pondering over each step of the iron smelting process.
At this moment, Conrad suggested, Count, could it be due to excessive impurities in the pig iron?
Impurities?
Yes. After all, we used your newly invented coke for smelting. Maybe it contains something different from the charcoal we used before, which got mixed into the molten iron?
Oh! Conrad, youre a genius. Youve hit the nail on the head.
Prompted by Conrad, Paul recalled a piece of information he had read earlier. It mentioned that pig iron smelted with coke was not suitable for conversion into wrought iron, as coke introduces impurities, making the iron brittle and prone to shattering when forged.
He also remembered the solution to this problem the puddling process.
To employ this method, a reverberatory furnace must first be built. The furnace melts the pig iron using coal as fuel, avoiding direct contact between the metal and the fuel, thereby preventing harmful impurities from contaminating the metal.
The pig iron is remelted in the reverberatory furnace, and a stirring device constantly agitates the molten iron on the furnace bed. The decarbonization from the circulating air in the furnace continues until it turns into forgeable wrought iron. As the metal doesnt directly contact the fuel, the wrought iron produced has significantly fewer impurities.
Paul shared his idea, and though the others didnt fully grasp the concept of decarbonization, they all felt the Counts method was worth trying.
Therefore, the craftsmen in the ironworks quickly constructed a reverberatory furnace as per Pauls design, remelting the previously scrapped iron and stirring it. After several days of experimentation and process improvement, they finally produced wrought iron that even Herman, the experienced blacksmith, approved of.
Paul breathed a sigh of relief. Had this hurdle not been overcome, all previous investments would have been in vain.
Under his guidance, Area 51 began attempting to cast cannons using iron. Since iron was cheaper than copper, if successful, it would significantly reduce the cost of cannons and increase the number of artillery in Aldas army.
As time passed, the old year was drawing to a close. The people of Lakeheart Town began preparations to celebrate the New Year, but not everyone was in high spirits.
Princess Eileen lay on the windowsill, blankly staring at the heavy snowfall outside.
Leah, who had just returned from work at Weiss Academy where she had found a teaching job, quietly asked upon seeing her, Miss, are you homesick?
Homesick? Humph! I am not. This is my home.
Leah sighed, knowing the princess was just putting on a brave face.
Your Highness, shall we return to Crystal Shine?
Return to Crystal Shine? Leah, are you suggesting I surrender to my father? No, I, Eileen Rodney, will never compromise.
Then shall we send a letter to Crystal Shine, letting them know we are safe?
Send a letter? And have them come to Northwest Bay to capture me?
Leah thought to herself that it seemed the princesss resentment had not yet subsided, and it was best not to provoke her further.
So, she quietly went to prepare dinner.
Eileen, watching her maid head to the kitchen, felt a pang of guilt for her earlier harsh words.
Her feelings were complicated at the moment. On one hand, she still harbored resentment and feared being captured by her father for political marriage. On the other hand, she dearly missed her family in Crystal Shine her sister, mother, and everyone she knew, including her father, whom she still resented, especially during the significant period from the Day of Descent to the New Year.
Ah this is so frustrating!
Eileen felt exasperated.
While the princess was troubled, unbeknownst to her, many eyes were watching her.
Across the street, in another house, two figures were conversing.
The patrol is complete. Nothing unusual around here!
Good work!
Ah, the princesss antics have spoiled our holidays.
What are you saying? Protecting the safety of the royal family is our fundamental duty. Even if the princess were in the capital, wed still have to be vigilant during the holidays.
Thats true, but Id rather do something more thrilling, like infiltrating the rebels to gather intelligence, instead of babysitting a runaway child all day.
If you keep talking like that, I might have to report you. We do what were ordered to, without complaints.
Alright, alright, I get it. But we need to be more careful. Today, I was interrogated for a long time by the local police. Luckily, I was quick-witted and evasive, so I didnt give away anything.
It seems Count Grayman is increasingly prioritizing security in his territory. Thats good. The better the security, the safer the princess will be. Our identities are not a problem, and we shouldnt run into any trouble for now. Plus, were not spying on the lords business secrets or his military, so we have nothing to fear.
But Im afraid of being caught as a stalker or peeping tom.
Shut up. We havent been discovered yet, have we?
Speaking of which, this place has changed a lot! I heard from the locals that just six months ago, this was a barren place.
Oh, thats thanks to the young lord. Ive heard a lot about his deeds.
Its amazing. Even the kingdoms princess is willing to work under him.
The things he comes up with are indeed fascinating. If I were a scholar, Id want to get close to him too. Have you seen the public lectures at Weiss Academy? That microscope, my goodness, its incredible!
Oh, stop. Just thinking about those little bugs makes me queasy.
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