Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 242 Behind a Successful Man
In a separate laboratory at the Imperial Magic Technology Research Institute on the outskirts of Dresden, Patricia von Seeckt frowned as she stared at a pile of complex and intricate magical components in front of her.

She was wearing a pristine white lab coat, her long golden hair neatly styled in a bun, revealing her smooth forehead and delicate profile.

At this moment, her face, which always carried an aristocratic pride, was filled with irritation.

"No, it still doesn't work! The frequency of the magic crystal oscillator still can't be stabilized! The energy circuit loss is too high!"

Frustrated, she threw a delicate magical probe onto the lab table, making a crisp sound.

Ever since the banquet and the day after Morin 'asked' her to develop a portable magical communication device, she has been completely absorbed in this project.

It wasn't that she had nothing else to do, but rather that, as Patricia had told Morin, her position within the Magic Research Institute was somewhat awkward.

Although she is indeed a genius girl, she unfortunately lacks the talent of a spellcaster, so many top projects have intentionally or unintentionally excluded her.

So Patricia was happy to have some free time and simply freed up her hands to 'work' for Morin.

Actually, she didn't know why she was helping Morin.

But ever since Morin visited the Magic Research Institute and had a long chat with her, Patricia seemed to be bewitched, subconsciously wanting to help Morin realize his 'vision' of breaking the existing order.
Thanks to her brilliant mind, and the fact that this technology was originally a project she had researched on her own, the initial theoretical construction and basic design went very smoothly.

However, the project has now reached the most critical physical verification stage, but it is stuck on a technical bottleneck.

How to miniaturize the prototype of the magic communication device to a size that can be carried by a single soldier while ensuring communication distance and stability is an unprecedented challenge.

She has been spending several days in the lab, racking her brains to try various solutions, but the results have been unsatisfactory.

"That idiot! He gave me such a huge problem, and then just ignored it!"

Patricia couldn't help but mutter a complaint under her breath, and the somewhat blurry face of Morin involuntarily appeared in her mind.

Of course, this was just her complaint; she knew perfectly well that Morin was now fighting for the Empire on the front lines, just like her brother Ludwig.

Just then, the bell at the door of the laboratory rang.

Patricia walked to the laboratory door and opened an observation window above the door, where her assistant was standing.

“Miss Seekert, someone from Falkenstein Estate called and said that some private letters of yours have been sent to them.”

The female assistant, slightly older than Patricia, spoke with some confusion through the door:
"They asked if you needed the letter delivered; the call is still ongoing."

"Falkenstein Manor? Letters?"

Patricia was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

Falkenstein Estate, isn't that the residence of Morin and that 'Queen of Radiance' Cecilia?
Could it be that Maureen wrote a letter to him?
A strange emotion welled up inside Patricia, causing her heart to beat a little faster.

After a moment, she tried to keep her voice calm and said to her assistant, "Tell them to trust me, I will come to pick it up myself later."

"Yes, Miss Seekert."

After the observation window was closed again, the laboratory returned to silence.

But Patricia found that she could no longer concentrate on the complex parts and blueprints in front of her.

Her mind was a jumble of thoughts.

"That idiot, he actually knows to write me letters?"

"I thought he had completely forgotten about it by now~"

"What will he write in the letter? Will he urge me to speed things up? Or... ask how I'm doing?"

"No, no! Why should I care what he asks?! He'd better not write those boring pleasantries and waste my time!"

Patricia paced back and forth in the lab in agitation, as if two little Patricias were floating above her head, fighting.

One of them told her that it was just an ordinary letter and nothing to worry about.

The other one kept urging her to go and see, to go and see.

In the end, Patricia couldn't resist her curiosity.
She glanced at the wall clock; there were still two hours until she got off work, but her mind seemed to have already flown to the manor in the suburbs.

Patricia then walked out of the laboratory, much to the surprise of her assistant who was outside.

"Miss Seeker, what brings you here?"

Patricia cleared her throat: "Ahem. I have a family emergency, so my research work this afternoon will be suspended and will resume tomorrow morning."

"Ah? Yes, Miss!" The assistant was clearly very surprised by this sudden decision.

Patricia ignored her assistant's surprise, took off her lab coat, changed into her usual well-tailored aristocratic dress, and walked out of the laboratory without looking back.

"I was just passing by! Yes, I was just picking something up on the way! I definitely didn't go there specifically for that letter!"

She kept emphasizing this to herself, as if that would convince her.

Half an hour later, a Radiant Crystal car slowly pulled up in front of the grand gate of Falkenstein Manor.

After having the driver wait outside the gate, Patricia got out of the car, where a carriage was already waiting to greet her at the manor gate.

Before long, Patricia was led to the entrance of the main building of the manor.

After getting out of the car, she took a deep breath, straightened her skirt, and then walked with elegant and proud steps toward the heavy oak door.

Head maid Luna was already waiting at the door. She led Patricia through the spacious and bright corridor to the hall.

Here, she met Cecilia von Falkenstein, the mistress of the estate, as well as another young woman with a good figure whom she had met once at the party and who had been 'having a pleasant conversation' with Maureen.

“Miss Seeker, welcome.” Cecilia smiled and stood up from the sofa, extending her hand to her.

"Good day, Mrs. Falkenstein."

Patricia returned the greeting politely and gave her a light handshake.

She had to admit that Cecilia was stunningly beautiful, with a cool and noble air, yet her smile had a warm and approachable quality that made her a woman hard to dislike.

"This is Ms. Helga Schmeisser, our company's most important weapons designer."

Cecilia then introduced Helga, who was standing next to her.

You should have already met them at the party~

Helga smiled shyly at Patricia and nodded as a greeting. She could sense that although the blonde young lady in front of her was better than when they last met, she still carried an aura of haughty arrogance that kept strangers at bay.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Cecilia picked up the letter belonging to Patricia from the table and handed it over.

“Miss Seeckt, this is a letter from Friedrichto from the front. Your name is the recipient on it.”

Patricia accepted the letter, thanked them, and seemed quite nonchalant.

But her slightly flushed ears and the unconscious grip on the envelope betrayed her inner turmoil.

The gifted young girl intended to open the letter immediately, but found Helga looking at her with curiosity, while Lady Cecilia beside her, though her expression was not as obvious as Helga's.
But Patricia's intuition told her that this 'Queen of Radiance' seemed equally interested in her letter?

She took a deep breath, used a letter opener to cut open the seal, and pulled out the letter inside.

"Dear Miss Seekert, it is as if we are meeting in person."

The letter began extremely briefly, even with a perfunctory greeting. The guy got to the point in no time after just a few sentences.

"Hmph, as expected, he's a clueless guy!"

Patricia scoffed inwardly and curled her lip.

But as she continued reading the 'main text,' especially the section on the Gauls' enchanting techniques, the strange expression on her face quickly vanished, replaced by an increasingly solemn look.

Enchantment Techniques: Reduce Weight, Increase Power
This firsthand technical intelligence from the enemy acted like magnets, instantly drawing Patricia's full attention.

As a genius in the field of magic technology, she immediately realized the immense value behind this information.

The Saxon Empire's approach to magical technology differed significantly from that of the Gallic Republic.

Therefore, research in the field of enchanting technology has always been relatively conservative and lagging behind. Unexpectedly, the Gauls had already applied it on a large scale to actual combat equipment.

This is both a huge threat and a rare opportunity!

If the underlying technical principles can be deciphered, it will be revolutionary for the Empire in terms of enchanting technology!

Her eyes sharpened, and her mind raced as she analyzed the various possibilities described in Maureen's letter.

In the latter part of the letter, Morin inquired about the progress of the two projects he had been most concerned about—magical communication equipment and the miniaturization of magical weapons.

When Patricia read the last paragraph, which was almost pleading, her heart was deeply moved.

"Portable radio communication equipment is absolutely crucial for our future wars! So crucial that it could even determine the outcome of a battle! I urge you to prioritize this project above all else."

These words made her truly feel the urgency and cruelty from the front lines.

That guy who usually seems so carefree must have felt incredibly anxious and helpless when he wrote those words.

Perhaps it was his experience on the battlefield that made Morin feel this so acutely?
Patricia silently read the entire letter, then carefully folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.

Her expression turned serious, and a determined light shone in her sapphire-like eyes.

The technical bottleneck that had been bothering her lately, the problem that had been giving her a headache for days, suddenly seemed less insurmountable.

Patricia felt a strong urge—she wanted to return to the lab immediately and combine the ideas mentioned in Morin's letter with her own concepts to overcome the difficulties.

She looked up and met Cecilia and Helga's inquiring gazes.

"It seems Friedrich has also presented you with a rather difficult problem?"

Cecilia broke the silence with a smile.

"also?"

“That’s right~” Cecilia said with a smile.

Soon, Patricia learned that Morin had also written to Cecilia and Helga, and in both letters he had made his 'demands'.

The three couldn't resist opening their own letters, only to find that the opening paragraphs Morin had given them all seemed pretty much the same.

As if amused by Morin's antics, Patricia shook her head and returned to the question Cecilia had initially asked her.

"Yes, Lady Cecilia Morin has indeed given me quite a problem, but it's a very interesting one."

"interesting?"

Cecilia, noticing the gleam in Patricia's eyes, asked with great interest:

Would you mind sharing this with us? Perhaps we can offer some assistance.

Patricia hesitated for a moment. According to the principle of confidentiality, she should not reveal her ongoing research project to outsiders.

But for some reason, when faced with Cecilia's sincere and frank gaze, her guardedness unconsciously relaxed.

Perhaps it's because they all received that idiot's letter and became people he 'asked' for.

This peculiar commonality created a subtle connection between them.

In addition, the project she is currently working on is, in a sense, not actually a project of the Magic Research Institute, but rather her own 'side job'.
"There's nothing I can't say."

Patricia's tone still carried a hint of pride.

"In his letter, Friedrich described some of the Gauls' enchanting techniques and once again urged me to speed up the development of portable magical communication devices."

"A portable magical communication device?"

Upon hearing this term, Helga curiously interjected:

"Is it a miniaturized version of the kind of radio used in the military now, which needs to be towed by a truck?"

"That's one way to put it, Miss Schmeisser."

Patricia nodded and explained in an expert's tone:
“But achieving true ‘portability’ is extremely difficult. The core issues lie in miniaturizing the energy core and the magic conduction circuit. With current technology, it is difficult to ensure sufficient power and stability while reducing the size.”

As she spoke, she unconsciously drifted into technical thinking, and her tone became increasingly eager:
"I've recently been working on a challenge: how to design a new type of miniature magic crystal oscillator that can remain stable at high frequencies."

"If this problem can be solved, communication range and anti-interference capabilities will see a qualitative leap."

(End of this chapter)