When I was about to actually test the bomb, I was so nervous that I took a long breath.
âSir Dolph, please.â
Caroline nodded her head at my words and put up a fence around us.
One of the inventions of the magicians was a fence that created a protective film that could block impact.
Kellerhan slowly raised his hand, confirming that preparations for the unexpected had been completed.
And with agile movements, he threw a bomb at the target.
The moment the bomb left Kellerhanâs hand, I was so trembling and nervous that I wanted to close my eyes.
But to check the power of the bomb, I had to keep my eyes open until the end.
A black, shiny bomb was seen flying rapidly in a parabola.
AndâŠ
âItâs a success!â
Carolineâs cheers were heard.
Seeing it with my own eyes and in disbelief, I stared intently at the tiny hole the bomb had hit the target and exploded.
I used vermilion gunpowder, but it wasnât very smokey, thus gray smoke leaked out a little, hissing from the hole.
âI-Itâs a succeeeessss!â
After confirming that everything was as planned, I was relieved in an instant and collapsed to the floor.
At that moment, Kellerhanâs large hand rested on my head.
âYou did well.â
Kellerhan said.
âIsabella, you did a really great job.â
At that moment, I realized that the single word I had been waiting for ten days and nights to develop the bomb was, âGreat job.â
I worked so hard because I wanted to hear that one word.
I said nothing and looked up at Kellerhan.
He smiled.
And he said something I never could have imagined, but what I needed.
âIâm proud of you.â
For a moment, I was out of breath.
As I was looking up at Kellerhan with round eyes, he laughed out loud.
âWhy do you look like that? You just did a great job.â
âThatâŠâ
It wasnât the first time I was told I made someone proud.
But it was more difficult because it wasnât the first time.
My parents used to say, âIâm proud that Isabella is our daughter,â whenever I cracked a code or matched a blueprint.
I liked the words so much that I wanted to hear more, so I kept hanging from their desks and peering through the books with them.
But when my parents passed away and they took me to Lodgemund, I thought Iâd never hear it againâŠ
Of course, I know that Kellerhan and my parents canât be the same person.
Hearing him saying, âIâm proudâ is not enough to fill the vacancy of my parents.
Nonetheless, it was good.
For telling me heâs proud of me, for treating me who is an outsider like a family.
âIsabella.â
I kept silent as I didnât know what to say when I heard Yutaâs voice next to me.
He tapped my hand. And he grabbed my index finger slightly.
âSorry.â
âWhat?â
I asked in surprise. What does Yuta have to be sorry for?
âBecause I didnât trust you.â
Ah. Heâs talking about his opposition to the bomb-making.
âFather scolded me a lot.â
Yuta laughed softly.
It was as if he had said something to Yuta while I was immersed in my research.
âYouâre my bride, but you donât belong to me, so I canât deal with you as I like. And⊠â
Yuta hesitated.
âIf I say useless things to Isabella in the future, tell me right away. I want to fix it.â
His voice was trembling thinly.
It was easy to see what Yuta was afraid of.
He was afraid that I wouldnât accept his apology.
I smiled brightly to reassure Yuta.
âThanks, for saying that.â
Yuta looked at me with a blank expression on his face.
His lips parted, and something that didnât make sense hovered over the tip of his lips and disappeared.
Yuta lowered his head. That boy came a little closer to me.
Seeing Yuta and I almost finished talking, Kellerhan asked.
âThis bomb, what are you going to name it?â
âName?â
âYou canât just call it a bomb. It confuses me with other bombs.â
Is that so? I was surprised as I had never thought of giving a name to a bomb.
âThe word âthrowable bombâ is too long. You need a shorter name.â
Kellerhan said, snapping his fingers.
The âshort nameâ he refers to is probably necessary in an emergency or operational situation.
I recalled the memories of my previous life.
However, throwable bombs didnât become popular and disappeared so quickly that it didnt have a plausible name.
âYou made it, so think about it, Isabella.â
I was troubled by Kellerhanâs words.
A name. NameâŠ
Yeah! A good idea suddenly came to mind.
âSince itâs a throwable bomb, how about calling it a TB for short?â
âAre you serious?â
Kellerhan looked down at me in disbelief and asked.
I tilted my head not knowing what was wrong.
He smiled in vain and swept his mouth with one hand.
âAny other names you can think of?â
Is TB that bad?
I thought it would be nice to be able to infer its purpose from the name.
I racked my head a bit more at Kellerhanâs suggestion of a different name.
Ah! Another good idea came to mind.
âHow about a PB? Itâs a bomb that looks like a pebble!â
âItâs not bad because itâs intuitive, but⊠Are you serious?â
Kellerhan made a bitter expression. When I looked next to him, Yuta was desperately turning away from me.
It was Caroline who told me the truth.
âYoung Madam, you donât have a sense of naming unexpectedly⊠â
âWas it bad? Both TB and PB?â
I thought both were pretty good names, so I panicked and looked at the three of them.
Kellerhan, Yuta, and Caroline in turn avoided my gaze.
Itâs a shock. It was really bad.
âUsually, inventions are named after the inventor!â
Caroline said in a lively voice, as if she was trying to change the mood.
âThatâs right. So, there are quite a few series of swords named after the blacksmith who made them. Itâs a different story from invention, though.â
Kellerhan recited several famous sword series.
âIs that okay? How about adding the dignity of the Young Madam to the bomb?â
Caroline actively commented.
Yuta stared at Caroline and his father, exchanging stories about the bombâs name, as he carefully opened his mouth.
ââŠItâs Isabella, so Bellatan?â
Bellatan?!
I was terrified.
âAnyway, itâs a bit embarrassing to name it after my name.â
Bellatan is named after me.
I wanted to hide in a mouse hole, thinking that the name would be put in the mouth of everyone who knew the existence of this bomb.
âWhy? I like it, thoughâŠâ
Yuta tilted his head.
âBut I canât help it because Isabella hates it.â
Fortunately, Yuta didnât insist on Bellatan.
We put our heads together and struggled for a while.
âThen what about âSchutanâ after taking it from Schwires?â
Yuta asked, twinkling his eyes.
âThatâs much better.â
Kellerhan nodded his head.
Caroline was also convinced.
I looked up at Kellerhan and Caroline, feeling a little betrayed.
I have no idea what the difference is between TB, a PB, and a Schutan! (t/n: theyâre like acronyms and abbreviations)
However, the three of them looked extremely satisfied, and I didnât want to be troubled by the name of the bomb anymore, so I accepted the name âSchutanâ.
***
After that, I made a crossbow and practiced how to handle Schutan myself.
Since the throwable bomb was the first weapon even Kellerhan, a combat veteran, had seen, he studied Schutan from a beginnerâs point of view like me.
Putting a Schutan into a crossbow and shooting it required much more complicated handling and caution than just throwing it by hand.
I had to be careful not to accidentally fire the Schutan or hit it by any chance until I took it out and mounted it on the crossbow.
âThis is worth using.â
Kellerhan whistled when he saw the Schutan fired from the crossbow burrowed into the target and then exploded inside.
âYou canât kill people all at once, but you can make them temporarily incapacitated. Of course, you can hold it in your hand and throw it like a surprise.â
He measured the exact power of Schutan by rolling his feet around the fallen target without taking his bloody remarks.
âI just wish I donât need to use it.â
I said, squatting next to Kellerhan, weighing the damage done to the target with him.
Then Kellerhan looked down at me with a strange expression and coughed in vain.
âAs a matter of fact, Isabella. This time I⊠â
It was the moment he was about to say something.
âMiss! And Duke!â
Magdaâs voice was heard from beyond the training ground.
âItâs time to return to the mansion.â
When I looked up at the sky at Magdaâs words, the sunset was already setting.
âYou worked hard today.â
Magda smiled broadly, not scolding or sighing, even as she saw me messed up with hum and dust.
âTonightâs dinner is cream stew, chicken, and sweet pudding.â
My eyes twinkled with joy at Magdaâs words.
Since I came to Barmuth, eating delicious food has become one of the greatest pleasures in my life.
âAh, Duke, what were you going to say earlier?â
While Magda brushed off the dirt on my body, I remembered Kellerhanâs last words and asked.
âIâll tell you when we get back to the mansion.â
I tilted my head, because it wasnât Kellerhan at all for him to delay a story.
Is this something that canât be talked about in front of Magda? If so, then I understand.
Having come to my own conclusions, I returned to the mansion with Kellerhan and Magda.
But back in the mansion, I didnât hear what Kellerhan was trying to say.