I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

---

Claire calmly began to tell her story.

It was the tale of her unrequited love for Lucas.

The starting point was when Lucas made his debut in the social scene at the age of 11.

At that time, she was very interested in the offspring of the Grand Duke families like herself, and naturally, her gaze fell on Lucas.

– Ah, you’re the Lucas of the Elmar family? The one with commoner blood mixed in, right?

However, Lucas was being ridiculed by his peers.

No matter how much Adella had risen to fame as a war hero, surviving in an aristocratic society that treated commoners as livestock was tough.

‘Poor thing. He’ll quietly fade away while being mocked like that.’

Lucas trembled with a red face, shaken by the jeers of various noble offspring.

Claire turned her head, thinking that Lucas would vanish from social circles.

It seemed difficult for that frail-looking boy to survive in the harsh aristocratic society.

‘See? I told you so.’

And as expected, soon after, Lucas ran out of the ballroom with a tearful expression.

His peers mocked him from behind, shouting, “Here comes the commoner!”

Claire shook her head at the sight.

If he could be swayed by the mocking of such riffraff, the future of the Elmar family would be obvious.

As long as Lucas was the heir of the Elmar family, it would face ruin.

‘What a foolish kid.’

So she considered severing ties.

Social gatherings served as a meeting for families to scout each other and form benefit groups for their own clans.

There seemed to be no need to befriend someone like Lucas, who had little potential.

‘I need to give him a piece of my mind.’

Yet, for some reason, she couldn’t shake her concern.

Could it be because he was a fellow offspring of a Grand Duke family?

Seeing the eldest son of the Elmar family, who rules the Eastern region, showing such weakness stirred something intolerable within her.

Claire went outside to give Lucas a stern piece of advice.

“…Ah.”

But upon finding Lucas, she froze in place.

She had discovered him sobbing in a corner.

Seeing such a pretty-looking child crying so pitifully, the anger that had been boiling in her chest dissipated.

‘…Take this, at least.’

Instead, Claire decided to use the “buff” she had recently started learning on Lucas.

Specifically, the “Spirit of Victory” that boosts courage.

Not long after, Lucas’s expression changed.

His tear-filled eyes sparkled with determination, and his quivering lips pressed into a hard line.

It seemed like Lucas had resolved to do something.

‘Did my buff work?’

And Claire felt a surge of happiness watching Lucas.

For the first time, she thought her buff had reached Lucas.

In reality, though, her buff hadn’t even activated, and it was just that Lucas had resolved to become stronger on his own.

But at that moment, Claire was convinced her buff had worked on Lucas.

From then on, she began to take an interest in him and watched over him.

A month later, at the upcoming social gathering.

‘Yes, of course, this lucky one is reaping the benefits of my first buff. He has to show up like this.’

Lucas taught his mocking noble peers a lesson.

Claire wore a satisfied smile as she beheld the completely transformed Lucas.

She thought it was all thanks to her and shrugged her shoulders.

In any case, her “Spirit of Victory” had awakened Lucas, and she believed it was this snowball effect that facilitated his growth.

“Hey, you’ve got some skills! Shall we be friends?”

Thus, Claire approached the completely transformed Lucas and proposed friendship.

Lucas gladly accepted her offer, and thereafter, the offspring of the Grand Duke families began to mingle.

‘Ah, so that wasn’t what triggered it…?’

But in the year she turned 16.

Claire came to a shocking realization.

She found out that the buff she had laid on Lucas at 11 had failed.

Because at 16, she was at a stage where she was developing her skills, and thus, she could see that her 11-year-old self had clumsily tried to cast a buff.

‘So, Lucas must have overcome it on his own… his complex.’

However, this realization became a turning point for Claire’s growth.

She, who had been smug, thinking Lucas grew because of her, began to humble herself and tried to understand the inner workings of a person.

‘Lucas… you’re desperate, aren’t you, still.’

And Claire realized.

The constantly exaggerated laughter and pretentiousness of Lucas hid a wounded soul inside.

He had been living desperately to never be treated dismissively again.

‘…Lucas.’

From that moment, Claire began to sympathize with him.

Even though Enya and Isabella mocked Lucas for exhibiting exaggerated laughter while showing off their skills, Claire understood that it was merely a façade to hide his hurtful past.

Thus, as Claire started to look deeper into Lucas, she soon fell in love with him.

Her sympathy transformed into encouragement, and the encouragement blossomed into love.

“…You never noticed, did you? That I liked you…”

And it was only now that Claire confessed her genuine feelings to Lucas,

who may still be alive or dead, trapped in Cassandra’s Cocoon.

“Lucas, can you hear me…? I’ve actually liked you for a long time. So, Ed and I are really nothing to each other. Your misunderstanding that Ed and I are together… it was because Ed thought it would help you grow, so I helplessly collaborated with him.”

With heartfelt words, Claire appealed to Lucas.

However, there was still no reply from Lucas within the cocoon.

Perhaps Cassandra’s tentacles, connected to the top of the cocoon, had already drained all of his life force.

“Lucas, please, accept me.”

But this was all Claire could do.

She sent her buffs and mana over the cocoon, hoping Lucas’s consciousness would remain.

She poured her strength into Lucas, wishing for a miracle.

That was all there was to it.

– Paaah…

A brilliant light erupted from Claire’s hands.

The purification spell and mana, which were squeezed out with all her sincerity.

– Ssss…

Claire sent what might be useless to Lucas, everything she had, which would otherwise be just a discarded card if he had no consciousness left.

She hoped her feelings would reach him this time.

***

Meanwhile, Ed, who was watching everything unfold within Cassandra’s Suit, wore a smile.

Hearing Claire’s sincere feelings for Lucas filled him with warmth.

Claire was truly the model of a perfect daughter-in-law.

There couldn’t be a better match for Lucas.

Her looks, family background, and personality were 10 out of 10.

[Claire…]

But inside the monitor.

Lucas, who had heard all of Claire’s words, was trembling.

Even though his body should have been unresponsive due to the strong paralysis, he desperately thrashed about, trying to respond to her confession.

Ed chuckled, propping his chin on his hand, and muttered.

“Alright, Lucas. It’s your turn now. It’s time for you to express your true feelings.”

As Claire’s purification spell and mana flowed into the cocoon.

Lucas fought desperately, ensuring that it wouldn’t be in vain.

Even in his body paralyzed by the poison, accompanied by excruciating pain in each muscle and joint.

He somehow managed to circulate his mana through sheer willpower.

Though the immense agony felt as if lava was flowing through his veins.

He paid no mind to it.

For this was all he could do, having forsaken the love of his mother and Claire due to a moment of emotion.

– Pah!

With that, Lucas freed one of his arms from the web that bound him.

And with one hand, he grasped Claire’s essence floating in the liquid.

Her emotions and strength began to fill him.

[Lucas… can you hear me? The mana I’m sending in is reaching you…?]

However, Claire was unaware of the situation inside the cocoon.

That was why she trembled in anxiety, thinking that all of this might be in vain.

[Kuh, Claire…!]

Thus, Lucas wanted to convey.

That her genuine feelings had reached him.

That her sincerity had completely changed his life and made him crave for life itself.

– Pah!

And just as Lucas had those thoughts.

The mana of Claire that had seeped into him began to radiate with a golden light.

Eventually, that golden mana exited Lucas’s body, flowed to the inner walls of the cocoon, and then returned to Claire.

Ed’s lips curled upwards at the sight.

Finally, the “Awakening” of the Bernhardt family had begun.

***

In the distant past.

In other words, during the ancient war that corresponds to the “Genesis” of this world.

Ed recalled that time.

And he thought of a woman who single-handedly swept away millions of demons in that war.

The first head of the Bernhardt family, Iris Bernhardt.

The strongest spellcaster, she.

‘Is the Bernhardt family the weakest? That’s a laugh.’

Yet, her descendants bore the stigma of being the weakest family among the Grand Duke families.

They believed that being a clan specialized in “buffs” and “auras” implied a lack of real combat ability.

‘No, “buffs” and “auras” are merely tools.’

However, that was a significant misconception.

Because the buffs and auras used by the Bernhardt family served only as means to amplify oneself.

Their true strength emerges when they reclaim the buffs and auras they’ve spread.

‘If sincerity is conveyed, the Bernhardt family is the strongest.’

And the conditions for their buffs and auras to be returned are when the spellcaster’s deep “sincerity” is contained in the buffs and auras used.

Only then will the recipient accept the caster’s sincerity and resonate with their buffs and auras.

‘Iris was always sincere.’

That’s why Iris Bernhardt, the strongest spellcaster, poured out her buffs and auras filled with sincerity to hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Her character and humanity. And the soldiers who understood her sincerity responded to it.

The countless lights emitted on the battlefield were returned to Iris.

Thus, she was able to become a legend.

‘Now it’s your turn, Claire.’

And in this aristocratic class society, there stood her descendant, resembling Iris.

Someone who loved to look into the hearts of others, Claire Bernhardt.

Sometimes her excessive thinking led her to cause some mischief, yet all of her actions stemmed from a thorough altruism arising from her attempts to understand others.

– Phuwaaaaaaaaat─!!!

And to that altruist, the sincere feelings of her beloved returned to her.

The feelings of love she had nurtured since childhood were finally completed with Lucas’s response.

– Goooooo─

Claire’s entire being began to bathe in golden light.

It was the moment when the legend of Iris Bernhardt was reborn.