Chapter 212: The Money Plan Part – Five
It was already midnight.
Moonlight spilled across the neighborhood, casting a pale glow over the rows of mansions and large houses that stretched into the distance. The streets remained illuminated by steam-powered lamps, their warm yellow light cutting through the darkness while soft snow continued falling from the night sky.
The grassy fields had already begun turning white.
Even the stone roads were slowly disappearing beneath a growing layer of snow.
Inside the mansion, however, the atmosphere was warm.
The Steam Engine Power Core quietly performed its work, circulating heat throughout the residence and keeping the winter cold outside where it belonged.
Around that time, Lucy woke up.
She slowly climbed out of bed and wrapped a blanket around herself before leaving her room.
Not because she felt cold.
The house was warm enough.
Rather, it had become a habit from her days in the Red District. Sleeping beneath blankets and carrying them around whenever she woke up at night simply felt comforting.
The corridor lights flickered on one after another as she walked through the hallway.
A small yawn escaped her mouth.
She rubbed her eyes.
Then her gaze shifted toward the library.
Light still shone from beneath the door.
Lucy paused.
"Master is still awake."
Another yawn followed.
Covering her mouth, she quietly approached the door before gently opening it.
The moment she entered, she found Ezra exactly where she expected him to be.
Seated at the table.
Working.
Books were stacked on both sides of him.
Some remained open.
Others were covered with handwritten notes.
The waste basket nearby was filled with crumpled sheets of paper.
Several more had missed the basket entirely and were scattered across the floor.
Meanwhile, Ezra continued drawing as if none of it existed.
His eyes remained fixed on the schematic before him.
Calculations.
Measurements.
Corrections.
Then more calculations.
"You are still working on this, Master."
Concern appeared in Lucy’s eyes as she walked closer to the table.
"Wouldn’t it be better to rest and continue tomorrow?"
Ezra didn’t even look up.
"I’m fine."
His reply came automatically while his pen continued moving across the paper.
Line after line appeared.
Well...
It’s not like sleeping would help much anyway.
The thought surfaced quietly.
The sleeping medication he had been using was already gone.
Although he now possessed enough money to purchase more, he had deliberately postponed doing so.
Every coin currently had a purpose and every expense needed to be justified.
Especially now.
Because the invention was only the first step of his plan.
As a result, Ezra found himself stuck in a situation where if he slept, the nightmares could come and if he stayed awake, he remained tired.
Neither option was appealing, but it was something he was already used to doing since the trial of steel .
Lucy stared at him.
Her expression gradually shifted.
The look on her face clearly said:
Go to sleep.
Ezra pretended not to notice.
The scratching of his pen continued filling the room.
Outside, the wind pushed against the windows.
Snow drifted through the darkness.
Inside, silence settled over the library.
Then...
The words spoken by the nurse during the Trial of Steel unexpectedly surfaced in Ezra’s mind.
For the first time in several minutes, his pen stopped moving.
"..."
He stared at the paper.
Then sighed.
"Ahhh..."
The sound broke the silence.
Finally, Ezra set the pen down, then he gathered his papers together.
Organized his notes.
Closed the books.
Carefully stacked everything on top of one another, and properly disposed of the squeezed papers that were on the floor into the waste bin.
"I’ll continue tomorrow."
He stretched his arms.
Several joints popped.
"Good night, Lucy"
He said, looking at with his blank eyes, then he left the library
Lucy blinked.
A small smile appeared on her face.
Honestly...
Sometimes it’s hard to believe he’s still thirteen years old.
Then she remembered something.
Actually...
He’ll be fourteen soon.
Her smile widened slightly.
After switching off the library lights, Lucy returned to her room.
The mansion gradually became quiet once again.
The next morning arrived quickly.
By sunrise, Ezra had already completed his usual exercise routine.
Now that his injuries had fully healed, he had resumed both physical training and martial practice.
Afterward, he circulated his Cognis for a period of time before finally returning inside.
A bath.
Breakfast.
Then work.
The routine repeated itself.
One day passed.
Then another.
Then another.
Ezra barely touched his phone.
He rarely left the mansion except for his morning exercises.
The rest of his time was devoted entirely to refining his design.
Lucy watched all of it with growing curiosity.
At this point, she genuinely wanted to know what her master was creating.
After all, she had already seen countless rejected sketches.
Weapons.
Machines.
Food.
Concepts she barely understood.
Seeing those discarded ideas had given her a rough understanding of how frightening Ezra’s imagination actually was.
For someone who had supposedly spent most of his life confined within noble estates, the number of ideas inside his head felt absurd.
Three full days later...
The design was finally complete.
"So today..."
Lucy sat down in one of the chairs inside Ezra’s study, which also served as part of the library.
"...I finally get to see what you’ve been working on, Master."
Excitement practically radiated from her.
A large board stood at the front of the room and a rolled-up sheet covered whatever was attached to it.
"I can’t wait."
Lucy smiled brightly.
Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly.
She’s somehow more excited than I am.
And I’m the one who made it.
Walking over to the board, he placed a hand on the rolled sheet.
Then he pulled it downward.
The paper unfurled.
Lucy’s eyes widened immediately.
"Wait."
She stood up.
Her gaze locked onto the design.
At first, confusion appeared.
Then curiosity.
Then surprise.
"Isn’t that a carriage?"
She tilted her head.
"No..."
Her eyes moved across the drawing.
"It doesn’t really look like a carriage."
A pause.
Then...
"Wow."
That was the only word she could think of.
The design possessed a beauty she couldn’t properly describe.
"It’s a carriage."
Ezra crossed his arms.
"But it’s also not a carriage."
Lucy looked even more confused.
Seeing that expression, Ezra simply sighed.
"Let me explain."
Ezra took out his Starlix Z11.
With a few taps, an image appeared on the screen.
It was an ordinary Steam Carriage.
The type commonly used as transportation by citizens who earned decent incomes but were not nobles. Wealthy servants, company managers, senior workers in large industries, and successful merchants often owned this particular type.
Lucy immediately recognized it.
After all, such carriages could be seen almost everywhere in major cities and they had also gotten inside the carriage numerous times.
Ezra swiped the screen.
A second image appeared.
This time it was a Noble Steam Carriage.
Compared to the previous one, the quality difference was obvious.
The materials looked more refined.
The decorations were more elegant.
The overall design immediately gave off a higher-class feeling.
Then Ezra swiped again.
A third image appeared.
The Royal Steam Carriage.
A vehicle reserved for the King, Queen, and members of the Royal Family.
Although there were exceptions.
Dukes and Duchesses were also permitted to own Royal Steam Carriages due to their status within Britannia.
"What do you think when you look at all three of these carriages?"
Ezra asked.
Lucy immediately understood that this wasn’t a casual question.
Whenever Ezra asked something like this, it usually meant he was guiding her toward a particular conclusion.
Because of that, she didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she carefully examined all three images.
Her gaze moved from one carriage to another.
Then she looked toward the design board.
Then back to the images.
"Hmmm..."
Lucy gently stroked her chin.
Several seconds passed before she finally spoke.
"Well, the normal carriage clearly looks more ordinary than the others."
She pointed at the first image.
"The materials don’t seem as expensive compared to the noble and royal versions."
Ezra nodded.
"Continue."
Encouraged, Lucy looked at the other images.
"The Royal Steam Carriage clearly uses higher-quality materials."
She pointed at the screen again.
"The seats are probably more comfortable, the construction is stronger, and I’m pretty sure there are defensive-base Alchemy circles engravings somewhere inside."
Her eyes shifted toward Ezra.
She wanted to know whether she was moving in the right direction.
"Everything you said is true."
Ezra nodded.
"But you’re mainly talking about the interior."
"The interior..."
Lucy repeated quietly.
The moment the word left her mouth, something clicked.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Immediately, she turned toward the design displayed on the board.
The more she looked at it, the more she understood.
"Wait..."
Her gaze returned to the carriage images.
Then back to the design.
Again.
And again.
A realization gradually formed.
"All of them have almost the same structure."
Lucy spoke slowly.
"The shapes are mostly the same."
Her voice became more certain.
"The biggest difference is how much effort is put into styling the outside."
A smile appeared on her face.
"The exterior."
Ezra lightly tapped the design with his knuckle.
"Exactly."
Lucy stared at the blueprint.
Now she understood what she had been looking at all along.
"So, this..."
She pointed at the drawing.
"Yes."
Ezra folded his arms.
"As humans constantly look for better clothing and fashion to make themselves appear more elegant, vehicles should also evolve."
His gaze moved toward the carriage images.
"People spend huge amounts of money improving houses, clothing, jewelry, and furniture."
He tapped the design again.
"So why should transportation remain the same? With only dressing it with gold, gems and diamond. And they think that’s peak fashion."
Lucy’s eyes remained fixed on the blueprint.
The idea sounded incredibly simple.
So simple that it almost felt obvious.
Yet nobody had done it.
At least not to this extent.
"So, I’m introducing a new form of land transportation."
Ezra pointed toward the design.
"Something that won’t simply be viewed as another carriage."
His finger traced the outline.
"A car."
"Car..."
Lucy repeated the unfamiliar word.
The moment her eyes landed on the full design again, she found herself unable to look away.
The structure looked elegant.
The proportions felt balanced.
The body flowed smoothly from front to back.
Everything about it felt different from the bulky Steam Carriages she was used to seeing.
The design Ezra had chosen came from the luxury vehicles of his previous world.
More specifically, the exterior styling of a Rolls-Royce Coachwork.
Back when Ezra first saw those vehicles inside the Book of Memories, even he had been impressed.
Not because of their technology.
But because of their beauty.
The elegance.
The presence.
The feeling they created just by being seen.
The cars of that world weren’t merely transportation.
Some of them were moving works of art.
And among all of them, luxury cars represented a different kind of beauty.
Not only were they fast.
Not only were they comfortable.
They carried the exact kind of noble elegance that wealthy people naturally desired.
To be fair, Britannia’s Steam Carriages were already beautiful.
Many were constructed using rare polished wood.
Some featured gold ornaments.
Others incorporated silver detailing and gemstones into the exterior.
The craftsmen responsible for building them were highly skilled.
However...
When Ezra compared the two side by side, the difference felt overwhelming.
It was like comparing a First-Grade material against a Ninth-Grade material.
The gap wasn’t small.
It was obvious.
Lucy quickly took out her own Starlix Z11.
Without saying anything, she searched for pictures of various Steam Carriages.
One image appeared after another.
Normal Steam Carriages.
Noble Steam Carriages.
Royal Steam Carriages.
She compared them directly against Ezra’s design.
The more she looked, the quieter she became.
Several moments later, she finally spoke.
"No matter how much I compare them..."
Her voice carried genuine amazement.
"Even with all the gold, silver, gemstones, and decorations added to the exterior of the current carriages..."
She hesitated.
Unable to find the right words.
"They can’t compare."
Ezra calmly finished the sentence for her.
Lucy immediately nodded.
"They really can’t."
The version Ezra had chosen used a black-and-silver luxury exterior design.
Although the blueprint currently displayed only the black version, the silver-and-black combination remained his preferred choice.
Lucy covered her mouth.
Her eyes remained fixed on the drawing.
"This is so pretty."
Without realizing it, she had already begun imagining herself driving it.
One of Lucy’s personal goals had always been obtaining a driving license.
She wanted her own Steam Carriage.
More importantly, she wanted to be the person who drove Ezra wherever he wished to go.
That dream had existed for quite a while.
But now...
Looking at this design...
Every noble carriage she had previously admired on the Grand Lumithar Shopping Complex website suddenly felt ordinary.
She had spent months waiting for the day Ezra would eventually purchase a noble-grade Steam Carriage.
Now she wasn’t sure she wanted one anymore.
Not after seeing this.
"Not only will this design introduce Britannia to the idea of properly improving carriage exteriors..."
Ezra walked back toward his study chair, then sat down calmly.
"...but it also won’t be considered excessively revolutionary."
Lucy nodded.
She could understand his reasoning.
The concept was simple.
Anyone could understand it.
Yet its impact would be immediate.
"It improves something people already use."
Ezra leaned back in his chair.
"And because of that, people will accept it much faster."
His gaze returned toward the blueprint.
A faint sense of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
The planning stage was finally over.
"Now..."
He tapped the armrest once.
"It’s time to begin the actual manufacturing."
