A House that Glowed

The news spread faster than Ernest expected.

It began with the workers.

Construction crews who had witnessed the successful commissioning of the hydroelectric station returned home to their families carrying stories that sounded increasingly unbelievable each time they were retold. A servant mentioned that the chandeliers inside Oriel Estate no longer held candles. One of the electricians proudly told his drinking companions that he had watched glass bulbs shine without a single flame. A wagon driver claimed the estate could be seen glowing from nearly a kilometer away after sunset.

By the following evening, half of Beryl District had a different version of the story.

Some insisted Ernest had trapped lightning inside glass.

Others claimed he had discovered glowing stones beneath the mountains.

One particularly imaginative merchant argued that the Baron had somehow persuaded alchemists to capture sunlight itself.