TVBDS 14

 Chapter 14

Born into the Tonel family, a line of clockmakers who had repaired watches for generations of the Loir royal family and nobility, Emily inherited her ancestors’ skill.

No, it wasn’t merely inheritance—she went beyond that and created machines that the world had never seen before.

Yet her remarkable achievements were only revealed after her death.

This was because her twin brother stole her accomplishments as if they were his own and even used them to be enshrined in the Royal Academy of Science Hall of Fame.

Had her conscientious descendants not revealed the truth, and had she not secretly left behind marks of her work, Emily might never have been able to rest in peace, even in death.

‘But this time, it’s different. Emily, I need you.’

I knew all too well the frustration of doing all the hard work yourself, only to have someone else receive the praise—and even take credit for it.

“My beloved automaton is broken… can it be repaired? It was made here.”

Camille discreetly handed over a business card with the name “Charmeuse” written on it.

Ah, I’d been in such a rush that I hadn’t even introduced myself.

What I had brought was a writing girl doll, a birthday gift from my father.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary porcelain doll. But beneath the silk clothes was not a cotton body—it was a complex system of thousands of intricate clockwork mechanisms.

When the spring was wound, the doll could move its arms to write the phrase “Happy Birthday.”

It was far too extravagant a gift for a young daughter’s birthday.

“Oh my! This doll—I sold this myself. I remember it clearly.”

“Really?”

Of course she remembered. After all, Emily was the one who made it.

“My father gave it to me as a birthday present, but it won’t write anything anymore. It’s very precious…”

Trailing off, I looked down, and her kind voice comforted me.

“Oh dear… you must have been very upset.”

“Yes…”

It wasn’t a lie. I knew it could be repaired, yet I was trembling at the thought of handing over such a valuable piece to my own hands.

“Please wait a moment. Emily needs to take a look at it.”

While Emily disappeared into the back of the workshop, I looked around the store with Antoine, taking in all the clocks and machines.

On display were lavish creations adorned with gold, silver, and jewels.

A swan with a long, elegant neck drinking water, a noblewoman that played music when a perforated card was inserted, a house-shaped clock with a cuckoo that popped out when the knight raised his sword at the hour.

The mechanisms were so intricate that it was beyond just wonder—it inspired awe.

Antoine, at the age where he would naturally be fascinated by such things, kept twitching his fingers. I whispered, “No, Antoine. Put your hands down.”

To think that Emily made all of this. And that I had to watch, wide-eyed, as the praise rightfully due her was stolen!

Looking at the many certificates and medals on the wall, each bearing Emily’s name, my chest tightened with frustration.

“Hey, it’s not even the Charmeuse children who came? So why am I the one they’re calling over? Don’t they know I’m busy?”

“Emily! What kind of attitude is that toward customers?”

“Tch. It’s just some childish toy that needs fixing… Oh dear, you’ve been waiting long, haven’t you? I am Emily, the finest clockmaker on this street.”

I heard that. Dummy.

Unfortunately, the thin cloth separating the workshop wasn’t enough to hide his voice.

“Let’s see… your precious automaton is broken, you say? Hmm, hmm, hoh…”

In hindsight, while Emily’s skill would eventually be legendary, Emily herself was only competent enough to make a living as a clockmaker; she could never truly run a workshop in this district.

Yet the expression she gave while inspecting the automaton was enough to make one believe she could have a statue in the Hall of Fame tomorrow.

“Can it be fixed?”

“Ha! Do you doubt me? Even our workshop’s receptionist could repair something like this, so don’t worry.”

“Then… couldn’t we have just left it to Emily from the start?”

“Eh, eh? Haha, what a joke. That’s just a figure of speech, you know, just saying.”

“R-really…?”

I wasn’t joking.

The repair would take about a week. They promised to contact me if it was finished early, so all that remained was to wait patiently.

“What? Leave it to you from the start? Ha! A child who knows nothing!”

Returning to the workshop, Emily immediately threw off her apron in frustration.

Though the Charmeuse family had recently profited from eastern trade and could not be refused, facing the machine left her unsure where to begin.

“Ugh… damn it. Hey! Emily!”

But there was always a way. If the receptionist could repair it, then she would have the receptionist do it—just as always.

“Two days will be enough, right?”

“Two days? Ah, no. I haven’t finished repairing the agricultural machinery yet… I have to do that first.”

“You’re arguing with a master? Do you not see what’s more urgent?”

Of course the agricultural tools came first. Emily bit her lip and silently disagreed.

Machines exist to aid human life, not just for play or amusement. At least, that’s how Emily thought.

Her twin brother, Emily’s brother, thought differently.

He removed practical features and replaced them with gold, silver, jewels, and ornaments. Naturally, the price became astronomical, while the function became simpler.

Rumor had it among the guilds that the Tonel workshop might be better off as a jeweler than a clockmaker, yet only Emily hadn’t realized this.

“You should be grateful. How many other brothers would entrust work to a younger sister instead of doing it themselves? You know how much I trust you! You should appreciate this opportunity!”

Indeed. Her grandfather and father had allowed the young daughter to play in the workshop, but never as a proper worker.

It was only thanks to Emily that she could handle machines and explore their mechanisms at all.

Eventually, Emily had no choice but to adjust her schedule.

“…Alright. I’ll finish it as quickly as possible.”

Returning to a corner, Emily swapped the receptionist’s apron for her worn and dirty work apron.

‘Couldn’t I just leave it to Emily from the start?’

The earnest expression and clear voice of the Charmeuse young lady stayed vividly in Emily’s mind.

“I wish it were possible…”

With a sigh, she resumed work.

Upon disassembling the automaton, a familiar mark carved into the gears was revealed.

It was the only evidence that Emily herself had made it, secretly left so that no one, not even Emily’s brother, would notice.

Tracing it with her fingertips, Emily sighed.

Could the day come when she could open a workshop under her own name, Emily, rather than her brother’s? Could this mark ever serve as proof?

“Hmm?”

Shaking off idle thoughts, Emily focused again—and at last, she discovered the cause of the automaton’s malfunction.