Maylee and Korsen were the children of the fourth branch of the family, and in terms of actual age, they weren't much older than Navis.
Talent-wise, they couldn't compare to the older brothers and sisters in the clan either, so their standing within House Menck wasn't particularly high.
But still—no matter what, it was higher than Navis's.
After realizing they were in the wrong, the siblings kept swearing up and down that they'd never do something like today again.
Luke glanced back at Navis. Watching that small figure bustling around the workbench, he suddenly got a new idea.
He turned to the two siblings in front of him, who were still panting like they'd just run a marathon, and said, "Starting today, you two are going to be Navis's assistants."
"Huh?"
Maylee and Korsen looked up at the same time, like they hadn't heard him right.
"Any objections?" Luke asked calmly, eyes on them.
That look alone made both of them feel a crushing pressure.
Maylee immediately forced an awkward smile. "Of course not. We'd be happy to help."
But neither of them looked happy.
In the family, Navis was basically rock-bottom—not only because of her background, but because she spent all day tinkering with "useless" inventions and had been mocked for it for years.
She was called the "dumbest" person in House Menck.
Sure, Maylee and Korsen weren't exactly shining stars either, but being forced to work under Navis—how were they supposed to show their faces after that?
Luke could practically read those thoughts off their expressions. He stood up, reached out, and helped the two of them to their feet.
Maylee and Korsen looked completely stunned, like they'd just been granted some unbelievable favor.
Luke asked, "You two think helping Navis is just a waste of time, don't you?"
They didn't answer, but it was obvious they did.
To be honest, they also had another question they didn't dare say out loud—what exactly did the prince see in Navis?
Luke continued, "If I told you Navis is smarter than both of you put together, you wouldn't believe me."
They still didn't respond.
Luke smiled. "Alright. A few questions. If you can answer them, I'll let you off the hook."
Maylee and Korsen swallowed hard and nodded.
Then Luke asked them the same questions he'd asked Navis earlier.
But the moment the first one came out—how sound travels—both of them already looked dazed.
After that, Luke tossed out three or four more questions, and Maylee and Korsen were totally lost.
They hesitated, stumbled over their words, and couldn't give a real answer.
Sound travels? Spreads? Amplifies?
Isn't sound just… sound?
Comes out of your mouth, spreads from your mouth, gets louder from your throat.
They kept that kind of answer buried deep, though. They could tell saying it out loud would be a disaster.
Seeing their blank expressions, Luke said evenly, "Navis can answer all of those."
That was hard not to believe.
That "dumb" Navis can answer that stuff?
"So yeah." Luke chuckled. "You two don't have much going on upstairs, and you're not exactly sharp. You've lived in the same family as her for years and couldn't even notice her strengths."
If anyone else said that, they'd have snapped back instantly.
But with Luke, Maylee and Korsen could only swallow it, faces full of grievance.
What were they supposed to do?
Navis basically never left the house. She stayed shut in year-round. Even if they wanted to notice something, when would they have the chance?
Who knew she was quietly sitting on all that knowledge?
They still doubted it.
But they also knew they weren't getting out of this.
And just like that, Maylee and Korsen were placed under Navis, responsible for assisting her with whatever she needed.
Printing couldn't possibly rely on Navis alone, and having two people helping meant she'd be able to breathe a little easier.
For now, though, the siblings needed to go change clothes and drink some water before they keeled over.
Watching them stumble away, Luke sighed with some emotion. "In big families like this, you're always going to get one or two who don't amount to much."
"?"
As Luke's gaze slid over toward her, Lux immediately threw him a look, annoyed. "Why are you looking at me when you say that?"
Luke shifted his eyes away. "I wasn't looking at you."
Lux lifted a brow, somehow even more annoyed. She huffed. "Even if I don't study that seriously, I'm still better than those two. Professor Mors said I'm actually really smart—I just don't apply myself."
Luke asked, genuinely curious, "Then why don't you apply yourself?"
Lux lifted her chin, practically glowing with confidence. "If I'm already this smart, why would I need to?"
Luke stared at her for a few seconds, then sighed. "Lady Crownguard, I just discovered one of your strengths."
Lux blinked, curious. "What is it?"
Luke said, "Your strength is… you believe anything people tell you."
This time, he seriously underestimated Lady Crownguard's intelligence.
She understood exactly what he meant instantly—and shot him an angry glare.
So that conversation died right there.
Around noon, House Menck learned the prince had come to visit, and the family warmly hosted him.
Of course, they also hosted Lux, Fiora, and Kahina.
Any one of those three, on her own, would warrant a lavish welcome.
With all four arriving together—and with the family hearing they were here because of Navis—House Menck couldn't help being shocked.
If it had been any other young member of the family, they probably wouldn't have looked so stunned.
They didn't press for details. And even if they did, Luke wasn't going to explain.
When Luke said he wanted to borrow House Menck's workshops, the family immediately told him he could use them however he liked.
So Luke accepted without hesitation.
Finding a workshop elsewhere would take time, and it might not be anywhere near the same level.
House Menck was a craftsman family—their workshops were top-tier.
Anything you could want, they had.
Using this place would save a lot of extra cost.
After a perfectly ordinary lunch, the afternoon shifted right back into producing lead type.
"Lead type" was basically like tiny metal stamps—thin bars, with one end carved into a character.
To make fast printing work, there were really only two painful hurdles:
First, producing the movable type—time-consuming, detail-heavy work.
Second, the printing press.
Demacia didn't have electricity, so it would have to be a human-powered press.
Luke described a hand-cranked press to Navis—turning gears by hand to drive the mechanism.
Most people would need time to wrap their heads around it.
But what delighted Luke was that Navis barely needed a moment to understand what he meant.
By 2:30 in the afternoon, everything was still running at full speed.
This time, Navis also had Maylee and Korsen helping. Before getting to work, the siblings had offered her a sincere apology.
Navis forgave them.
In truth, she hadn't been bullied much. It was mostly verbal jabs, and it hadn't really hurt her.
Growing up without a father's protection, Navis was tougher than people assumed.
So she let it go.
Lux and the others helped out too. They didn't understand the tools or techniques, but they could still follow directions and handle basic assisting.
Luke, meanwhile, lounged in his chair and enjoyed the afternoon.
His work was the mental kind—and he was already exhausted.
A little after 3:30, the first finished piece of lead type was produced.
Navis walked over to Luke holding it, carefully trying to wake him.
Before she could speak, Luke's eyes opened. He glanced at it. "Finished?"
"Mm. I made one first, following what you described." Navis handed it over. "Like this?"
Luke took it. It was about four centimeters long and barely thicker than a fingernail. Looking at the end, you could clearly see the imprint of the character.
He nodded. "That's basically it. Just follow this for the rest."
Navis finally let out a breath, her motivation surging.
Watching her idea slowly become reality—any craftswoman would feel excited.
With that confidence, Navis hurried back and kept working.
From here on, it would be easier. The mold for the bars was done—now it was just carving the characters.
And Maylee and Korsen, with some experience, could handle that work too.
To speed things up even more, Luke decided they would use the two neighboring workshops as well.
That made Maylee and Korsen hesitate.
Luke noticed immediately and asked, "What is it? Say it."
Maylee forced a smile. "The third one is our older brother's personal workshop. Normally he doesn't let anyone go in, and before he left, he specifically told us to keep an eye on it…"
Korsen nodded beside her.
Neither of them dared touch that third workshop.
Their "older brother" was Jared—the one already serving at the palace as an official. Apparently he'd recently gone out of town for work.
While they were still talking, Luke had already opened the door to the third workshop.
Light spilled inside. It really was kept spotless, with tools neatly arranged.
Even the lighting alone looked better than the first two.
"Nice." Luke swept his eyes over it, satisfied. Then he lifted a hand toward the siblings. "Go tell Navis to move over here. This workshop is mine now."
"Th-this…"
"What if our brother asks later…"
They still hesitated.
Luke looked at them and said casually, "If he has a problem, he can come tell me himself."
The words were outright domineering—no room for refusal.
Maylee and Korsen didn't dare say another word.
And just like that, all three workshops were taken over by Luke.
All to accelerate the printing schedule.
With things moving forward, Kahina stood up to take her leave.
Luke's primary partner for this project was the Illuminators' Church. Kahina needed to report to her family—and make preparations on other fronts as well.
Just last night, she'd assumed this would take a while.
She hadn't expected such progress on day one. At this rate, it wouldn't take long at all.
Before leaving, Kahina looked at Luke and suddenly said, "Your Highness… could you walk me out?"
Luke noticed she seemed to want to say something privately, so he stood. "Alright. Let's go."
Outside, the sky was clear and bright.
They walked side by side down the road. But for a long stretch…
Kahina, the one who'd asked him to come, didn't say a word. She only stared ahead, quiet.
Luke simply waited.
Because inside Kahina's chest, everything was tangled—hesitation and urgency twisting together.
Kahina, say something. Say something!
She'd spent the entire morning hunting for a chance to get him alone, and finally pulled it off.
And now that the moment was here, she didn't know what to say.
She was so nervous she wanted to sneak a glance at him, but felt like she couldn't even turn her head.
So she kept looking down at the road, walking one step after another.
As House Menck's gates came into view, Kahina finally gathered her courage. "Your Highness… about what happened yesterday. On behalf of the Illuminators, thank you."
Luke smiled, thinking it was something like that. "Didn't you already thank me yesterday?"
Kahina kept her head lowered. "It's different. Today… I prepared a thank-you gift."
Luke said casually, "You really didn't need to."
Kahina suddenly ran in front of him and blocked his path, stubbornly insisting, "No. I have to!"
Maybe it was the sun, but her cheeks looked even redder than usual—soft, warm color under pale skin. Her clear blue eyes flickered like they were catching the light.
Seeing how serious she was, Luke stopped and asked, curious, "What kind of gift?"
Then he froze.
Kahina stepped closer while he spoke, lifted her chin—and gave his cheek a quick, light peck.
Then she retreated, her face turning even redder. Still, she boldly met Luke's eyes and smiled sweetly. "It's just a thank-you gift. Don't overthink it."
With that, she spun around, ran out, and climbed into her carriage.
The carriage rolled off quickly.
"Don't overthink it?" Luke's expression turned baffled.
That was a sneak attack.
For a second he couldn't even tell if he'd taken advantage—or been taken advantage of.
If she'd leaned just one centimeter to the left, that would've been his lips.
Who thanks someone with a kiss?!
And she kissed him once and bolted—seriously? Playing hard to get?
Scratching the back of his head, Luke pulled his thoughts back in.
If thank-you gifts were always going to be like that, maybe he really should do more good deeds.
With that thought, Luke turned around and strolled back at an easy pace.
Inside the speeding carriage…
Kahina covered her burning face, heart pounding, silently scolding herself for being so pathetic.
She'd done mental prep all night, and at the very last second she still chickened out.
Then she clicked her tongue at herself under her breath. "Idiot… you should've just kissed him properly…"
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