Reborn as a Hated Noble Family, We Start an Industrial Revolution

​Tap... tap...

​Raphael’s footsteps felt exceptionally light as he crossed the main courtyard of the Iron Hearth Castle.

​The freezing northern night air slapped and bit at his face, yet deep within his chest, the lingering warmth from walking Elodie home refused to fade.

​He navigated the inner corridors of the castle, which had grown quiet for the night.

​Only a few night-shift servants passed by with lowered heads, carrying stacks of fresh linen. They hastily bowed in respect upon spotting the youngest prince. However, Raphael, thoroughly lost in his own daydreams, merely returned their greetings with a fleeting nod.

​A faint smile still graced his lips... until his footsteps abruptly froze right before the entrance to the family wing.

​Rumina was already standing there like a statue.

​The woman had her arms crossed rigidly over her chest. Her face now radiated an incredibly rare and terrifying aura: pure, unadulterated fury.

​”Raphael.”

​Rumina didn’t shout. But that flat summons slipped from her lips as sharp as a freshly honed scalpel.

​Raphael let out a long sigh, cursing his luck. Haaah. ”Rumina. It’s rare for you to be wandering around at this hour. Weren’t those reports—”

​”Shut your mouth and don’t try to weasel your way out of this,” Rumina cut in coldly. ”You know exactly why I am standing here.”

​Raphael clamped his mouth shut. Damn it. He knew exactly where this interrogation was heading.

​”You had the sheer audacity to bring an outsider into the Royal Library,” Rumina hissed, her eyes narrowing sharply behind glasses that reflected the candlelight.

​”Elodie is not an outsider. She’s my classmate.”

​”Classmate or not, the Royal Library is a classified facility that isn’t open to just anyone, Raphael!”

​Rumina’s voice pitched up an octave, though she desperately held it back from exploding and waking the entire hallway. ”There are countless military archives and classified intelligence in there! If they fall into the wrong hands, the entire kingdom could be in jeopardy! And you just waltzed that girl in as if it were some public bookstore, Raphael!”

​”Elodie wouldn’t steal a damn thing from there,” Raphael argued defensively, his jaw muscles tightening. ”She didn’t even glance at the military archives. She only touched a cheesy fiction novel and a couple of science books.”

​”Oh, magnificent! And since when did you possess the ability to read minds and guarantee someone’s true intentions?!” Rumina scoffed cynically. Heh. ”You are a prince, Raphael! Every idiotic decision you make has a domino effect. You can’t just act as you please!”

​Raphael clenched his fists at his sides. The veins in his neck bulged. ”I just wanted to show my friend a beautiful place. Is that such a massive crime?!”

​”Of course it is! It’s a massive sin when your method tramples all over the security protocols we’ve painstakingly built!”

​The atmosphere in front of the family wing abruptly froze. The two siblings glared at each other, both equally thick-headed. Raphael stood his ground with the ego and idealism of his youth, while Rumina stood firm with the law.

​”What is all this commotion so late at night?”

​Both of them turned their heads in unison.

​Shuffle... shuffle... The soft padding of cloth slippers approached. Aurelia stepped closer, carrying her ever-soothing motherly presence. A cream-colored knitted pashmina was draped over her shoulders to ward off the chill.

​”Mother... thank goodness you’re out. Raphael just violated—” Rumina hastily opened her mouth to snitch on her little brother.

​”I already know everything, darling,” Aurelia interrupted gently.

​The Queen stopped right beside Raphael, placing her warm hand onto her youngest son’s tense shoulder. ”The head librarian has already given me the details.”

​”If you’ve already received the report, then why are you just staying quiet instead of punishing him immediately?!” Rumina’s voice now sounded far more frustrated than angry. She felt a headache coming on. ”He just smuggled an outsider girl into the—”

​”That is because I met the girl personally earlier this evening.”

​Rumina was stunned. Her mouth hung slightly open, her words suspended in the air.

​”Her name is Elodie... and she is an incredibly sweet girl,” Aurelia continued, her gaze wandering as she recalled the afternoon’s events with a small smile. ”I could judge her character the moment she spoke. From the way she looked at Raphael. And from the way she bowed respectfully to me, her face pale with sheer nervousness. That girl is no spy, Rumina. She isn’t some classified document thief.”

​Aurelia glanced at Raphael from the corner of her eye. ”She is simply an ordinary young girl who... happens to have successfully stolen the attention of my beloved youngest son.”

​Cough! Raphael reflexively choked on his own saliva. He stared at his mother in absolute horror. ”M-Mother—”

​”A mother’s instincts and heart are never wrong when reading a person’s nature, Raphael,” Aurelia interjected calmly, her smile growing wider. ”And my heart’s radar concluded... that girl is absolutely zero threat to our family.”

​Rumina clicked her tongue loudly in exasperation. Tch! She threw her gaze roughly toward the hallway wall. Her crossed arms folded even tighter. ”This... this is truly outrageous. If every child in this castle is constantly shielded by you every time they break a rule, then what is the point of bothering to establish security bureaucracies?!”

​”The rules still apply, Rumina. And I admit, you have always been someone who adheres to them flawlessly,” Aurelia looked at her eldest daughter with a disarming tenderness. ”But just for tonight... let your little brother breathe free from punishment. Consider this an... exception.”

​Rumina ground her teeth in annoyance. ”I still don’t agree with this insane leniency.”

​”You are not obligated to agree. But you are obligated to respect my decision as the lady of this house.”

​An awkward silence hung between them for three full seconds.

​Finally, a frustrated groan rumbled from the back of Rumina’s throat—the signature sound of a perfectionist older sister who had just suffered a crushing defeat debating her own mother’s authority.

​”Ugh... whatever! You and your precious favorite child can do whatever you want! I’m going back to my room, my reports are vastly more important!”

​Without waiting for a reply, Rumina spun on her heels and marched rigidly toward her room. Down the corridor, the heavy, angry stomping of her shoes echoed, interspersed with muffled, inarticulate grumbles.

​Now, only Aurelia and Raphael remained standing before the doors to the family wing.

​”Thank you so much, Mother,” Raphael said softly, his shoulders slumping in sheer relief. ”I... I’m truly sorry for causing a commotion tonight.”

​Aurelia looked at her son with a warm gaze. ”Next time, please don’t act so recklessly, dragging an outsider into classified areas without official authorization. Rumina’s argument just now was one hundred percent correct. What you did was still a mistake.”

​”I understand completely, Mother. I promise this carelessness won’t happen again.”

​Aurelia nodded in satisfaction at the promise. She patted Raphael’s shoulder twice, brushing off the lingering night dust, then turned to head back to her sitting room.

​”Oh, and one more thing, Raphael...”

​Raphael immediately straightened up again. ”Yes, Mother?”

​Aurelia paused. ”That girl is incredibly sweet and kind,” she said without looking back, her tone as light as a feather. ”I like her very much.”

​And with a single, simple sentence like that... Aurelia successfully caused every neural pathway in her son’s brain to completely short-circuit.

​Raphael instantly scrambled for words, his face flushing hot all the way to his ears. ”M-Mother! I-It’s not like that... I mean, we really are just classmates, Mother! Seriously, there’s absolutely nothing going on between the two of us! I was just—”

​But the Queen was already walking gracefully down the corridor, paying absolutely no mind to her youngest son’s panicked denials.

​Raphael was left paralyzed alone in front of the doors with a comical expression on his face—a blend of pure panic, dying embarrassment, and a hint of frustration that his dignified pride had been utterly demolished.

​From a distance, across the dimly lit castle garden, two silhouettes strolled side-by-side. Raveena and Caelus. It seemed they had just finished taking a walk to catch the evening breeze, and the sound of Raphael’s panic had just snagged their attention.

​The moment Raveena’s eyes met Raphael’s from across the yard, his older sister instantly carved an extraordinarily wide, devilish grin. A silent, mocking smile that practically screamed: ”Aww, would you look at that... the lovesick boy finally got caught!”

​Beside Raveena, Caelus could only shake his head slowly, covering his mouth as he desperately held back his laughter at his future brother-in-law’s flustered state.

​Raphael returned his sister’s obnoxious stare with a highly irritated huff. Hmph! Unwilling to utter another single word, the prince shoved the wooden door in front of him, stepped into his private corridor, and slammed the door shut behind him.

​Creak. SLAM!

​Raphael dragged his feet down the quiet hallway toward his bedroom. The second he stepped inside and closed the door, his rigid posture instantly slumped. He leaned his back against the cold wooden door, his eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling.

​Aurelia’s meaningful smile. Raveena’s obnoxious, teasing grin. Rumina’s lethal scolding. And... Elodie’s awestruck face as she gazed at the thousands of books in the library earlier.

​Everything spun around in his head like a merry-go-round. Raphael rubbed his face roughly with both palms.

​”Haaah... this is really going to be a very, very long night,” he groaned softly to himself.

​The young man pushed himself off the door. He walked lazily toward his teakwood wardrobe. His fingers moved slowly, undoing the buttons of his uniform collar one by one. Rustle. After changing into a comfortable, loose linen shirt, he immediately threw his body onto his plush bed.

​Thump.

​Raphael lay flat on his back. His eyes stared blankly upward. Through the glass window of his room, he could see the scatter of stars still faithfully twinkling, keeping the Northreach night sky company.

​Slowly, his eyelids began to feel as heavy as lead. His breathing slowed, falling into a steady rhythm. His mind drifted away from reality, and with a faint smile still unconsciously lingering at the corner of his lips... Prince Raphael drifted off into a peaceful sleep.