Drawing Manga in a Romance Fantasy

Chapter 174

Clang!

“What are you?!”

“Protecting the target from intruders.”

Edric was momentarily stunned by the mysterious woman’s action as she raised her arm to block the sword he had swung.

‘What is going on?’

He hadn’t held back in his strike, targeting the intruder who had snuck into Somerset. Edric had been certain the opponent’s arm would be severed cleanly.

But instead of cutting through, his sword was deflected, an unbelievable outcome.

Swish!

“Ugh!”

Edric marveled at how effortlessly the opponent withstood his fierce attack as if it were nothing.

“Impressive. Your skills are quite something.”

“The intruder’s combat ability is strong. Immediate retreat is advised.”

The automaton, having assessed Edric as an intruder, recognized that his mana was beyond manageable levels. It had shifted from elimination mode to protection mode, prioritizing defense.

With both perceiving the other as a threat, neither held back as they prepared for the next clash. Edric quickly activated his sword technique, Marionette, to restrict the opponent’s movements.

However, Edric soon found himself forced to withdraw and assume a defensive stance.

‘What’s going on? I can’t feel anything.’

Marionette relied on exploiting an opponent’s physical responses to limit their actions, but the automaton displayed no such reactions, making the technique ineffective.

Clang!

Even without Marionette, Edric’s attacks were powerful enough to incapacitate a seasoned sword expert upon impact.

Yet the opponent blocked each blow with ease. Though it didn’t retaliate, the lack of openings made it even harder for Edric to gain the upper hand.

‘How is it taking my attacks barehanded?’

It was common knowledge that a blade imbued with mana could only be blocked by another mana-infused weapon.

Even steel could be cut by a skilled mana user.

Unless its body was made of mythical metals like mithril or orichalcum, it was impossible to explain how the automaton was blocking his sword with its bare body.

“This won’t end easily.”

“Intruder’s combat level confirmed as maximum tier. Weapon restrictions lifted.”

Realizing that holding back was futile, Edric prepared for a full-force strike.

At the same time, the automaton received permission to unlock its internal weapons, acknowledging Edric’s combat abilities as equivalent to Zinnia’s highest projections.

The two stood locked in a deadly standoff, their resolve to end the fight in the next strike so intense that sparks seemed to fly between them.

Tap!

The moment they lunged at each other—

“What are you doing?!”

Ada suddenly burst between them.

“Ada! What are you doing?!”

“Identifying protected target!”

Caught off guard by Ada’s sudden appearance, Edric had to hastily twist his movement and withdraw his strength to avoid harming her.

Similarly, the automaton froze, halting its weapon deployment to avoid injuring its designated protection target.

And then—

“Somerset Whirlwind!”

Jumping between them, Ada unleashed a technique she had learned from Alain—Whirlwind, a signature kick from the Somerset style.

Her high kick struck Edric’s blade with precision, while the follow-up low kick targeted the automaton’s ankle.

Thunk.

Edric collapsed to the floor, unconscious, after the recoil of his own sword struck his forehead.

Meanwhile, the automaton, hit in its power source, shut down and fell motionless beside him.

“I win!”

Raising her arms triumphantly, Ada struck her victory pose.

But then—

“Wait! I need to get the priest!”

Recalling Rupert’s lesson that one should fetch a doctor or priest, not celebrate, when someone collapses, Ada quickly hopped on Raschu and raced toward the church.

“Please don’t worry, Marquis Bradley.”

“Please forgive me, Your Highness!”

In the Somerset estate, Marquis Bradley knelt in front of Edric, who was lying in bed, pleading for forgiveness.

Though Edric tried to assure him it was fine, Bradley’s face remained pale.

“It’s fine!”

Meanwhile, Ada stood beside him, confidently raising both hands as if nothing had happened.

Her cheerful stance made the marquis’s distress look even more pitiful.

“Marquis, if you keep this up, I’ll have no face left to show my teacher.”

“But…”

“Can’t we just say I slipped and fell?”

Finally, Edric’s repeated assurances seemed to calm Bradley, whose face gradually regained color.

‘Haa… I feel like my lifespan just shortened by ten years.’

Bradley recalled the moment he received the shocking news while working in his office.

“What? How did His Highness collapse?!”

Seeing Father Michael unexpectedly visit the estate, he had gone to greet him—only to witness a scene he would never forget.

“They were fighting, so Ada intervened!”

Inside Krune’s secret workshop, which even Bradley had never entered, lay Edric and an unidentified woman.

‘Wait—was that even a woman?’

The shocking fact that Edric had been knocked out by Ada’s kick—delivered through his own sword—had kept him too preoccupied to notice earlier, but now it was clear that the thing he had fought was definitely not human.

However, with his youngest daughter’s unintended assault on royalty—a mistake serious enough to warrant their family’s extermination—Bradley hadn’t had the luxury to dwell on the automaton’s nature.

If Edric hadn’t been Rupert’s student and addressed him as “Master,” things might have turned out far worse. But if it had been another member of the royal family…

‘Wait. Would it really have been a big problem with any other royal?’

Bradley thought about Ada’s godfather, Crown Prince Alex, and Second Prince William, who had recently started visiting from time to time.

Alex’s fondness for Ada was now infamous within imperial society. Rumors had even spread that Ada might be an illegitimate child born from one of the prince’s youthful indiscretions.

William, too, adored Ada, often playing card games with her and showering her with gifts whenever he visited.

Lastly, Princess Iolin was practically engaged to Rupert in all but name.

‘Hmm…’

After mulling it over, Bradley concluded that, strange as it was, even if Ada had knocked Edric unconscious, it might not have turned into a major issue after all.

Clack.

“Your Highness! You shouldn’t be moving yet—”

“I’m fine. Honestly, it feels ridiculous that we even called for a priest.”

Snapped out of his thoughts, Bradley hurriedly tried to stop Edric as he sat up in bed.

But Edric brushed him off, getting up as if nothing had happened.

“Ada, what exactly was that thing earlier?”

“That? Oh! That’s my subordinate!”

“Subordinate?”

“Yup!”

Used to calling her friends “subordinates,” Ada responded without hesitation, leaving Edric briefly bewildered.

But he quickly replayed his memories from just before he lost consciousness.

‘That wasn’t human.’

At the time, his focus had been solely on protecting Ada from the intruder in Somerset.

Only now did it dawn on him—what he had fought was definitely something else.

“Can you show me this subordinate?”

“Sure! But…”

Ada responded readily at first but soon scratched her head awkwardly and avoided eye contact.

“Is something wrong?”

“Krune’s mad…”

Krune had found out that Ada had been sneaking into his workshop and playing around, and he wasn’t happy about it.

“I’ll speak to Master Krune myself.”

Resolute, Edric left the marquis’s bedroom and headed straight for Krune’s workshop.

*****

“So, this was supposed to be top secret…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say a word to Master Rupert.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

Krune let out a relieved sigh before immediately grumbling again.

“Seriously, how did that brat manage to sneak in here?! Do you know how delicate the things in this place are?!”

The fact that Ada had bypassed his supposedly impenetrable Dwarf-forged locks clearly bruised Krune’s pride, and his frustration boiled over.

But—

‘Incredible. So this is the new golem?’

Edric wasn’t paying attention to Krune’s complaints.

His focus was entirely on the new golem lying motionless, powered down like a doll.

“Its skin looks perfectly human. How does it have the durability to withstand my attacks?”

“Ah. That’s complicated. But to put it simply, there’s a type of slime with special mucus that bonds with other materials.”

Krune explained that they had synthesized rare and expensive materials, using the slime’s properties to create an entirely new composite.

‘Amazing. It hardens to a steel-like density upon impact but feels just like human skin when at rest.’

Even after examining it closely, Edric remained awestruck by the golem’s craftsmanship—no wonder he had mistaken it for a person at first.

“I had to model its eyes and body parts after real human anatomy. That was no small feat.”

Krune, clearly proud of his creation, eagerly explained every detail—even parts Edric hadn’t asked about.

“But I distinctly remember the golem speaking. How does that work?”

“Oh, that’s not my doing. Zinnia handled that part. She made it capable of learning, just like a human. Impressive, right?”

“Learning?”

Hearing this, a sudden thought flashed through Edric’s mind.

His eyes narrowed as he carefully inspected the golem once more.

Modeled after a specific woman or not, the resemblance to an actual person was uncanny—so much so that it stirred a memory in Edric’s mind.