“Ah, this brooch could be given as a birthday gift to Miss Noble, but it is not for sale.”
When Dale and I went into the store, I realized that the gentlewoman was Adeline.
She said it was a “tea party” and set a trap for me.
When I smiled brightly, Adeline gritted her teeth.
"What is this?"
I handed her the well-wrapped box.
“Happy birthday, Adeline.”
“Oh, haha…….when did you get this?”
Adeline tried hard to hide her expression.
Then one corner of her mouth twitched as she stared at the box.
“What's in it?
I'm looking forward to the gift, it's a gift from our new friend, Miss Anne!”
Then the reactions around her became ambiguous.
The faces looked like they didn't expect much.
Of course Adeline would be too.
Grrrr.
The tape was undone, and the box was opened.
“Oh my god this……!”
Adeline made a deliberately exaggerated exclamation.
She couldn't hide her laughter.
“Oh my god, what is that, pfft, no…… I’m sorry, oh my god…….it’s so small.”
The gift she brought was the necklace.
“That's very kind of you, but I'm sorry, this is a very common gift…….”
“Wait a minute.”
While I waited, the woman who had remained silent until now spoke.
“Isn’t this the angel pendant that the Sixth Emperor of the Empire made with great care?”
“……!”
“It's a carved necklace with a ruby in the middle, like an angel spreading its wings!”
It was Rosanna, who introduced herself as a merchant's daughter.
"correct."
“I can't believe I saw this with my own eyes!”
It was a very small pendant, but that wasn't something that could be judged by its size.
What matters is that it was made by a craftsman who holds the title of Master Craftsman.
“Do you know this necklace?”
“Of course I know her!”
Rosanna screamed.
“Who is a fool who would not recognize such a great work?”
For a moment, Adeline's face distorted.
“Adeline.”
"……What."
Adeline responded sharply, her face contorting as if she were chewing something unpleasant.
“I'm sorry, but this is a gift.
Would you mind selling it to me?”
“……?”
Adeline's eyes widened at Rosanna's question.
“I know it's rude, but you told me, Adeline, if Miss Anne comes into the store and wants to buy a present, don't sell it.”
“?!”
“Miss Anne, who is sitting here, was only invited to be harassed.”
“W-What are you talking about?!”
Rosanna continued talking, not paying any attention to what Adeline said.
“What nonsense!”
“What do you mean, nonsense?
Traders may cheat, but they don't tell nonsense.”
Rosanna shrugged.
“Traders save all the words spoken while buying and selling on a recording device to ensure a perfect deal, and I am an honest trader.”
“Do you want to stop working with my family?!”
“I'm telling you because I want to make a deal, and when I find something worth the money, there's no reason to back out.”
“Are you crazy, what are you talking about?”
“I felt it, this thing, it's a fortune in itself.
Make a deal with me, Adeline.”
Then I slowly raised my hand.
I smiled brightly as everyone looked at me.
“No, Adeline did not receive the gift I gave.”
“……!”
“I thought I heard Adeline say earlier that she doesn't accept such things.”
“Oh, no.”
I closed the box cold.
“So this necklace is still mine.”
Adeline's face turned white, then red, then blue.
There was only one emotion in her eyes.
humiliation.
“Thinking about it, I think I heard that too.”
At that moment Rosanna intervened, her eyes shining.
She was looking at me with crazy, confident eyes.
“Hahaha this…….”
Adeline shuddered and opened her fan.
"I knew it too.
I tried to say I couldn't accept it because it was a masterpiece.
Ah, I remembered how busy I was.
Everyone, please leave now!"
The party hostess suddenly left the place.
“Okay then, Miss Anne.
Please talk to me.”
I smiled at Rosanna who approached politely.
* * *
Two days later, Rosanna came to see me.
“At that time, I was grateful that something exciting had finally happened.”
Rosanna told me as she sipped the tea Dale had brought.
“It was a boring place, and you really lifted my spirits.”
Rosanna marveled at the taste of the tea Dale made.
“Is this the Dale that the Kidland girl can't live without?”
"correct."
“He's as handsome as I heard.”
Rosanna's eyes rolled quickly.
But they were not the eyes that coveted handsomeness.
They were the eyes of a businessman clicking away at a calculator.
“If beauty can be valued, how much is the beauty of the most handsome man in the empire worth?”
I muttered seriously.
She's kidding, right?
“Can you stop looking at other people's husbands as objects?”
"Oh!
I'm sorry."
Rosanna smiled widely.
She finished her evaluation of the necklace and wrote something serious on a piece of paper.
“Is that enough?”
I wrote an amount of 1 million kroner.
I rewrote the number one into the number five.
Rosanna screamed.
“Five million kroner is too much, even for Masterpiece No. 6!”
“Then I won't sell it.”
"I am waiting……!"
I got up, and Rosanna caught me in a panic.
“Isn’t this necklace just a gift you were going to give, so why are you offering such a high price?”
“I wouldn't give it to her, of course.”
"What?"
“It was clear that the party was intended to harass me, even a seven-year-old could see.”
“……So, you bet this expensive necklace on purpose?”
She looked surprised.
“Knowing that I would covet that necklace?”
“I didn't know Miss Rosanna was in the room.”
“Then why……?”
“Because Adeline Kydland does not have the discernment to estimate the value of the necklace, she would never have accepted a gift from me in the first place.”
“So you knew all along.”
Rosanna nodded admiringly.
“It is not easy to deal with someone like her, she is a difficult person to beat.”
Rosanna corrected the number.
“How about two and a half million kroner?”
“Words and actions are different, aren't they?”
“That's a lot of money.”
“Two hundred and seventy then?”
“Dale, shall we go for a walk?”
"Good."
Dale stood and put his hood down as if he were waiting for me.
He looked at me with a look of love on his face.
In times like these..
'He is very good at acting, even in small moments.'
If in my previous life a boy had been this beautiful, he would have been an actor.
His demeanor was calm and gentle, in contrast to his stern appearance.
“Now, wait a minute, three and a half million crowns!”
That's when Rosanna screamed.
“Three and a half million kroner is the maximum.
If you take more, I will go bankrupt, ma’am……!”
“Three and a half million?”
I know very well that she will never go bankrupt because of this.
But the price is very good.
“3.7 million.”
"Oh!
My heart!
Oh!"
“You are not sick.”
“Yes, but my heart!”
Rosanna hit the calculator in her head and sighed heavily.
"Okay. 3.7 million!
There's no need to change the words, ma'am!"
“No division either.
No bartering of goods, all cash.
In krona, the empire’s currency, all at once, no installments.
Do you understand?”
“Okay ma'am!”
I heard a groan from Rosanna and I winked at Dale.
Taking the cue, Dale turned to me.
“I'm sorry, but I have to tell you something.”
"What?"
“It came from far away, but I don't think it's a good idea to raise the price too much.”
"Is this correct?"
I pretended to listen to Dale seriously.
I can see the anticipation on Rosanna's face.
Dale will help me negotiate, as we previously agreed.
I sighed regretfully and turned to Rosanna.
Now it's time to get to work.
“Like Dale said, I don't feel comfortable seeing Rosanna sad.”
I pushed Dale's arm away and sat down again.
Dale seemed to look at Rosanna with a cold stare for a moment, but maybe it was just his mood.
“I will lower the price.”
"truly?!"
“Because seeing you having a hard time makes my heart hurt.”
"Yes, I'm having a hard time.
I have a headache, my stomach hurts, and I'm a mess."
She looked at me and pretended to cry.
I knew she wasn't sick, because she didn't smell sick.
Rather, it was the stench of illness in the palace that immediately made me feel nauseous.
***
“And remember, for indeed remembrance benefits the believers.”
- Glory be to God
- Praise be to God
- There is no god but God
- God is great
- I ask God for forgiveness
- There is no power nor strength except in God
- Glory be to God and praise be to Him
- Glory be to God Almighty