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The noble who took the inventor Giovanna’s father back to the city-state of Astra ordered him to repair the remains of the aqueducts in the surrounding area and make them usable again.This ambitious nobleman, seemingly seeking to compensate for his lackluster military achievements, wanted to expand his influence by claiming credit for repairing the aqueduct.

Her father managed to repair some parts.
But he could not restore most of it. Many sections differed in shape, size, and likely used different technologies from the ruins he and his daughter had painstakingly studied in their hometown. There was simply too much he did not understand.
He did not speak of his daughter. No one would believe a sixteen-year-old girl had accomplished what no one else had ever managed.
Above all, he feared for her safety and sought to keep her uninvolved.

An aqueduct only has meaning when it connects the source to the place of use. Even if part of it is repaired, water cannot flow unless the whole system is restored.
The noble who had ordered the restoration flew into a rage when his expectations were betrayed, but there was nothing to be done.
Then another noble, a political rival of the first, accused Giovanna’s father. An uneducated stonemason could not possibly have devised techniques to restore ancient ruins. He must have obtained that knowledge by making a contract with monsters, he claimed.

.
…From the bottom of her heart, Ekaterina thought that if she had been there, a certain martial artist would have been extremely busy.

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Even in my previous life, inquisitions were often used to declare wealthy Jews guilty in order to confiscate their property. Because it could be exploited so conveniently by those in power, the concept of “heresy” as a crime must have arisen in this world as well.
Still, to those in power it might have been just a minor political squabble, but for the father it meant execution by burning if found guilty. Sacrificing the lives of the low-born for power struggles—I know it was an evil tradition repeated throughout history, but still: stop it, you blithe monsters!

.

The accusation was ridiculous. And yet countless people had lost their lives because of such ridiculous accusations.
The father was dragged before a court and interrogated about how he had come up with the technique to repair the aqueduct ruins. For the unforthcoming stonemason, it was impossible to give a convincing explanation while hiding his daughter’s involvement.

News of his accusation was, of course, quickly conveyed to the daughter Giovanna and her brother Giovanni.
Though shaken and grieving, Giovanna tried to consult with her brother about how to support their father. According to the forest chief, her brother said this to her:

*“I’m not getting dragged into trouble because of a father like that. Don’t involve me.”*

And then he took all the money in the house and disappeared.

.

……what a jerk of a brother. I’d tell him to take a page out of Onii-sama’s book, but that would be a waste of a page for him!

.

Giovanna was stunned, but that shock, she later told the forest chief, actually cleared her head and hardened her resolve.
The first thing she did was take scissors from her mother’s sewing box and hack off her long hair.
Then she put on her brother’s clothes, which fit her fairly well, efficiently packed her belongings, donned a hooded cloak, and set off for Astra.
As she walked, she kept singing and muttering aloud the things she would have to say, until her voice was completely ruined and hoarse—until it no longer sounded like a woman’s voice.

When she reached the court, her father’s trial was already underway. He could answer almost none of the questions, maintaining silence, and the atmosphere made it clear that his conviction was inevitable.

Giovanna burst into the courtroom and shouted:

*“Wait! The one who planned the restoration of that aqueduct is I, his son, Giovanni di Santi! My father merely wished to protect me, as he deemed me too young! I have made no contract with any monsters either. I will explain that everything is the result of observation and reasoning!”*

As evidence, Giovanna presented the notes and sketches she had accumulated over several years. She dumped the massive stack onto the courtroom floor and, in her raspy voice, explained at length how she had first conceived the method while playing in nearby ruins, how she had tried many different approaches over the years, how she had repeatedly failed and tried again, and how she had finally succeeded in restoring it. Compared to her withdrawn father, the strong-willed daughter was far more eloquent, as might be expected.

When the applause and cheers erupted after she finished speaking, the most surprised person of all was Giovanna herself.
But the commoners who packed the gallery had all become allies of the brave “son” who had rushed in to protect his father. They were utterly captivated by the genius boy with a pretty, girlish face (well, she was a girl) who spoke so logically about difficult matters.

*“Give this boy money! Authority! Restore the aqueducts and give us water!”*

the crowd shouted in unison.
Though she herself had no such intention at all, this was the moment when “the inventor Giovanni di Santi” was born.

In no time, everything was arranged for her to repair the waterworks of Astra. The young ruler of the city-state, who was present in the courtroom, decided so with a single word.

At first, of course, she intended to find an opportunity to escape with her father.
If her true sex were discovered, she would certainly be subjected to another inquisition and convicted immediately. In the ancient Astra Empire, women’s status had been low and their rights almost nonexistent. In the Middle Ages after the empire’s fall, they were oppressed even further, unable even to learn to read or write. This was similar to the Roman Empire and medieval Europe of my previous life. In Giovanna’s era it was not quite that bad, but no one would believe that a young girl could repair ancient ruins. It would be taken for granted that she had relied on the power of monsters. And yet…
She soon found herself completely absorbed in working as Giovanni.

.

Of course she did.
People with talent are happiest when they can use it.

*“When Giovanna talked about her ideas, everyone just laughed at her. But when Giovanni di Santi speaks, everyone listens. I can turn ideas into reality. Everyone looks where I point, moves, and together we create the same thing. And then they thank me, and are moved by what I’ve done… I couldn’t go back, not to being Giovanna.”*

That is what she told the forest chief.
Yes. I think I understand.

.

In about three years, Giovanna had almost completely deciphered the structure of the water and sewage ruins around the city-state of Astra, established restoration techniques, and spread them among craftsmen. She did not merely revive ancient technology, but added many of her own innovations. Water flowed through the cities again, fountains returned to the plazas, becoming places of rest for the people. She embodied many other ideas as well and came to be called an inventor. Her fame spread beyond Astra to other countries.

If one acts confidently, surprisingly few people doubt anything. Once she had become such a prominent figure, no one imagined she could be a woman.
Even so, she could never feel safe. Her hometown was nearby; the danger that her true identity as Giovanna rather than Giovanni might be exposed was always close at hand.

.

It was around that time that an invitation arrived from Duke Vasily Jurnova of the Jurgrahn Empire.

*“I had always admired Jurgrahn. I heard that they have schools where women can study together with men.”*

Ms. Giovanna, I am sorry. That was a national trap…
Still, the magical academy (or its prototype) had been established shortly after the founding of the Empire. Roughly mapping this world’s history onto that of Europe in my previous life, if the present corresponds to the late early modern period, then four hundred years earlier would be around the early Renaissance? In Japanese terms, perhaps the Muromachi period.
Coeducation at that time would indeed be astonishingly progressive!
Once again, huge respect for Piotr the Great, the founding father of the Empire!

However, when the young ruler of Astra learned that Giovanni di Santi intended to accept Jurnova’s invitation, he flew into a rage.
He was Giovanni’s patron and protector. As Giovanni was also his subject, he likely regarded her as a personal possession. He himself favored Giovanni, and the people adored Giovanni as much. He had no intention of letting her go. Moreover, in an age of constant warfare, urban waterways were a matter of military secrecy. Giovanni, who knew everything about Astra’s water system, was herself a bundle of state secrets.

*“You wish to leave my grasp? If I must hand you over to another, I would sooner reduce you to bones and keep you here.”*

So he declared.

But Giovanna was desperate as well. And the envoy whom Vasily had sent, charged with judging the inventor’s worth, had seen her achievements over three years and resolved to bring her back to his lord no matter what.

*”I either await for my death, or I play the dice I had. It wasn’t much of an option.”*

Giovanna had no hesitation.
And thus, plans for her escape from Astra were set in motion.