The Villainous Son Loves His Mother - Chapter 73

◆

Right now, I’m polishing a gemstone while setting aside my books.
It’s for a Mother’s Day gift, three months away.
I’ve usually spent my time researching magic, so this might be the first time I’ve dedicated myself to such intricate craftsmanship.
Mother would likely be pleased with any gift, but I refuse to settle for “just okay.”
I’m not a perfectionist, but if I’m going to give her something, I want it to be something that makes her smile with genuine surprise and joy.
With that in mind, compromise becomes impossible.

My workbench is scattered with polishing sand, chemicals, and half-carved gemstones.
The blue stone I was just working on looks dull, perhaps due to insufficient polishing.
It’s not bad to the naked eye, but when I imagine it paired with Mother’s dresses and accessories, it just doesn’t feel right.
Beside the table lies a book titled Small Stone.
This was a detailed book on gem processing, authored by Idra Ira Caliste, the head of the Duke Caliste House.
The Duke Caliste House was one of the Twelve Ducal Houses.

They were a great noble family known for their stone rights in the Olkenstein Mountains, but they also published many works like this.
As I flipped through the pages, I found instructions on making glue for bonding gemstones.
The process involved boiling bones and hides to remove impurities and adjusting the viscosity. By applying multiple layers and applying pressure, the gemstones could be set into metal frames.
I could force the gemstones to adhere using my Magic Power, but I thought it would be best to carefully try the proper technique.

Further pages detail methods for polishing soft gemstones.
Unlike working with hard stones, soft stones were prone to chipping.
The book explained how to use sandstone powder to gradually polish and shape them.
With my Magic, I could forcefully grind the stones, but skipping these meticulous steps would likely result in subtle differences in luster.
Since this was a special gift, I wanted to approach it as properly as possible.

“Alright, let’s start by refining this a bit more,”

I muttered, picking up the blue stone and applying a file to it.
Too much force and it would chip.
Too much caution and I’d never finish.
Finding the right balance was proving quite difficult.
But no matter how carefully I polished it, the clash of colors remained.
The finished piece wasn’t bad, but when I imagined it with Mother’s dress, I couldn’t shake the feeling that “something was off.”

“Perhaps I should prepare a more subdued color to match Mother’s preferred shade of green…”

As I pondered this, my hand froze mid-motion.
Wait—if it’s just advice…
Unable to resist, I called for Feri.

◆

“Young Master, what is it?”

Feri’s footsteps were almost silent as she entered the room.
Whether it was due to her use of invisibility magic or her natural agility, her presence always felt faint.

“Take a look at this. It’s a prototype ornament I’ve been working on, but the combination with green just isn’t quite right.”

I pointed to the blue gemstones, bases, and unfinished frame arranged on the desk.
Feri silently picked up each piece, turning it over to examine it from different angles.

“The craftsmanship is remarkably meticulous, but I agree that the pairing with green feels slightly off.”

Her voice was calm, but her assessment was merciless.
It stung a little to hear her dismiss my carefully crafted masterpiece so casually.

“Exactly! And Mother’s dresses are mostly bright green. Adding blue isn’t bad, but it just doesn’t quite harmonize.”

“Indeed. Perhaps a more subdued color, or if you’re using it as an accent, a shade with greater depth…”

“A deeper color, you mean?”

“What about black? Green and black complement each other surprisingly well, and it would make a striking accent. The problem is that black gemstones are quite rare.”

Black gemstones were indeed rare.
As far as I know, the only famous black gemstone is Night’s Dew.
But rumors say this gem is so rare that it almost never appears on the market in the Imperial Capital.

“I see… You must be talking about Night’s Dew. I’ve never seen one myself either.”

“Nor have I, my knowledge is secondhand at best. I’ve never had the honor of seeing the real thing.”

“It’s Mother’s Day, after all… Isn’t there anything we can do?”

Muttering to himself, he reopened the book on his desk and checked the index of Small Stone again.
The index listed numerous gemstones, but “Night’s Dew” was nowhere to be found.
Instead, near the end of the volume, a handwritten note in archaic script read:

“Rarely bestowed by the darkest one…”

The darkest one… Hmm, could that refer to the undead?
But I can’t imagine those creatures possessing such a rare gem…

“Feri, what do you make of this description?”

Feri tilted her head slightly after a single glance.

“It says ‘The Darkest One’… It might refer to certain Undead or Demons, but I can’t be certain. At the very least, it doesn’t seem like something that would circulate in ordinary commerce.”

Indeed, logically speaking, such an item shouldn’t be in circulation.
But since I thought it would make a special gift for Mother, I couldn’t help but be intrigued.
If I couldn’t create something satisfactory with blue stones, perhaps searching for black gemstones was another path worth exploring.

“Well, I doubt we can acquire it immediately. And since it’s described as ‘The Darkest One,’ ordinary Undead won’t do. I can’t imagine finding it just lying around on some corpse.”

“You’re right. We lack sufficient information to proceed right now.”

“For now, I’ll have to focus on refining my techniques with other colors. If I could just locate the Night’s Dew, that would be ideal…”