“Your Highness?”
Hermia asked with wide eyes. Madame wrinkled her nose with a face full of emotion.
“Why would someone who has never set foot in a jewelry store come here? You came to buy a gift for your beautiful fiancée.”
The Duke came to choose my gift himself?
As soon as I heard Madam’s words, my heart began to pound uncontrollably.
“But we’re not officially engaged yet… … .”
Although he was humble, he couldn’t seem to hide his anticipation. Madam snorted openly and pushed his back.
“It’s only a matter of time, isn’t it? After all, such romantic coincidences are rare. Go up and say hello. And make sure your gift is expensive and nice!”
That was the goal. Thanks to the madam who revealed her true feelings without hesitation, my mind was somewhat at peace.
Hermia pretended not to be able to resist and followed her guidance up the stairs. Then she stopped for a moment, taking in the scene as it came into view.
In front of a glass display case displaying all sorts of jewellery, a man with a very different vibe from the place stood.
I felt this way the first time I saw him, but Walter Rockford seems to be the type of person who stands out when he’s with other people.
Otherwise, there would have been no way of recognizing him right away among the men wearing similar clothes.
Hermia somehow felt like she could pinpoint Walter even if there were hundreds of people gathered in the square.
‘I think a man who is choosing a gift looks cooler.’
She slowly approached Walter, who was lost in thought with his arms crossed.
“Hello, Your Majesty.”
He was so absorbed that he stared at the display case until all his subordinates took a couple of steps back and Hermia spoke to him.
Walter raised his head belatedly, looking slightly surprised.
“Miss Hermia.”
Walter, who had long legs, reached her in just a few steps and naturally extended his hand.
A man with perfect manners, in addition to wealth, face, body, and voice!
After only their second meeting, Hermia made a firm pledge of confidence.
‘Don’t give your heart to me!’
Even now, I’m trembling like this, but I knew that if I were to marry a man like this, I would definitely melt like soft butter.
Can we really accept this man coming home at dawn or in the morning to meet another woman?
Among the nobles of good looks, there was not a single man Hermia knew who did not have a lover. Her father, Count Arnold, was one of them, and she was the result of that.
Frederick also had acceptable facial features, although his forehead was a bit wide, and he also had several women he met separately.
The reason I decided to marry him even though I knew it was true was because he was so honest that he listed the names of his lovers in his letters.
[These are the women I have met so far. I swear on the Cotton family’s name that after marriage, I will put everything aside and devote myself only to Miss Hermia.]
Rather than someone who pretends not to know on the outside and does stupid things behind the scenes, wouldn’t it be better to be someone like Frederick who reveals everything openly? And you don’t have to worry about getting stabbed in the back of the head.
That doesn’t mean I hate meeting an ugly man.
Anyway, I had just decided that I would never give my heart to Walter Rockford. Even if I were to marry him, there was a high chance that I would end up being the main character of a melodrama.
‘I don’t need any alimony. I just need you, Walter!’
‘I’m so sick of this! It’s not you I love, it’s Mel Greenwood!’
It felt strangely realistic. Hermia, whose imagination had spread to that point in an instant, suddenly looked at the back of her hand. Walter was lightly kissing her glove like last time.
“I guess you’re on your way back from the bookstore.”
He glanced briefly at Andy, who was holding a book wrapped in yellow paper, and then said:
“I came out to buy a birthday present for my mother, and I happened to come across this. Why is Your Highness here…?”
I quickly changed the subject, fearing that he might ask what book I had bought, and a faint look of embarrassment crossed Walter’s face.
What? Didn’t you come here to buy me a present?
“I didn’t catch on to that. May I ask when the Countess’s birthday is?”
“Next Saturday. You’re probably having a party at your house.”
Since I haven’t heard from you, it looks like you haven’t received the invitation yet.
Well, given my stepmother’s personality, it was clear that she would not send it until next Monday.
Countess Bahnsen always sent out invitations to the parties she hosted in a hurry. She had a nasty habit of keeping an eye on people who invited her suddenly and then postponed their plans.
It was a moment when I realized how amazing my stepmother was, as I applied the protagonist’s disease of always putting himself first to the duke.
Hermia quickly added, fearing that Walter would be offended.
“You always send out invitations a few days in advance. I think you’re probably taking the time to send them to the Duke, so it’s taking longer.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, I am sure.”
Walter nodded calmly at the firm answer and walked towards the corner where the necklaces were displayed without letting go of her hand.
“Then let us begin choosing a gift for the Countess from now on. Please lend us your good sense, Miss Hermia.”
“You want me to… choose?”
“I don’t know much about jewelry. I think your daughter will like what she chooses better than mine.”
‘My mother would probably like anything expensive.’
She swallowed her emotions and looked into the glass case.
‘Eek. Why is it so expensive?’
The ruby, the size of a soybean, embedded in the thinnest string alone was worth a whopping 6 million perso!
I didn’t know because I never checked the prices properly the few times I accompanied the Countess, but when I thought about it, Madame Sophia’s shop was famous for being expensive even in the capital.
Since the maid would take away everything she had carried around, from her hairpins to her shoes, when she returned home, she had long since abandoned her interest in luxury items.
Because I was afraid that if I knew the price, I would become greedy. No matter how much I needed money, I didn’t want to go as far as stealing.
‘Wait a minute. Is there anything you can buy with 3.4 million?’
Next to it, the necklaces became more and more extravagant, and I had to give up even counting the zeros on their price tags.
Hermia shook off his hand and walked away.
My eyes grew even wider as I went to the bracelet sales counter through the gap left by my subordinates retreating.
I’m screwed. The cheapest bracelet I could find was 4.5 million pesos.
“Brooch… … . How much is the brooch?”
She muttered to herself as she paced up the second floor, then suddenly realized something.
‘I guess the expensive ones are on the upper floors and the cheap ones are on the lower floors.’
Hermia wandered around alone and then ran down the stairs.
“miss!”
A bewildered Andy looked back and forth between Walter and Sophia, who were left alone, and then hurriedly followed after the landlady.
“Oh, I guess there’s something you like downstairs. Haha.”
Sophia was smiling awkwardly, trying to hide her disappointment. Then, Henry, who had been silent, approached Walter and muttered.
“According to reports, you usually wear expensive jewelry all over your body, so why are you looking at the price tags?”
“… … .”
“Do you already have everything here… … ?”
As Henry slightly shook his head, Walter narrowed his eyes and strode towards Sophia.
“What is the most expensive thing you didn’t buy at Bansenga?”
“yes?”
Sophia, who had been blankly looking up at Walter, came to her senses belatedly and her eyes lit up.
“Of course it’s a blue diamond necklace!”
“Let’s do that.”
“The Blue Diamond, which is said to be as hard to obtain as the stars in the sky, is as many as thirty-eight… … .”
“Please pack it well and send it to the workshop.”
“…yes?”
* * *
Hermia, who came down to the first floor, let out a sigh of relief.
As expected, small trinkets like brooches, buttons, and hairpins were on the lower floor. The prices, which were in the 1 to 2 million won range, also felt familiar since I had already seen the upper floor.
While I was looking at the 1.5 million PERSO gold-plated brooch, Walter’s voice came from behind me.
“Are you going to give me a brooch?”
“ah.”
That’s right. I had forgotten about that person. I looked back in embarrassment, and Walter calmly came up next to me, carrying his luggage on his back, and started to take interest in what I was looking at.
Every cell in my body stood on end with tension as the distance between us suddenly became shorter.
“I don’t know much about jewelry, but I do know that quality and price are proportional. If you’re going to do it, try something else.”
“Uh… well, I wanted to see something a little different… … .”
Even if you don’t say it in such difficult terms, I know that expensive things are better. But I don’t have money right now.
… How can you say that? Hermia bit her innocent lower lip.
“If the price is too much for you, don’t worry about it. Whatever you choose will be charged as a craftsman’s fee.”
This time it was not Walter who spoke, but Henry. He was looking down with a slightly sullen expression.
Is that person some kind of mind-reading psychic? Hermia asked, thinking quite seriously.
“Billed as a public servant? What does that mean…?”
“It is exactly as you said.”
He cut Walter off bluntly and took a step back, perhaps expecting a rebuke from him.
Hermia thought back to their first meeting, when she had been too busy to look at him properly, and soon realized that Henry was the soldier who had carried her father on his back.
He must be a noble, since he’s the Duke’s subordinate. I can’t read the rank list, but his rank looks pretty high.
‘You don’t like me. Yes. I understand. I understand why you turned down a princess and took on a prospective fiancée who was born out of wedlock.’
The cold treatment from the elites was nothing new, so she scratched her cheek calmly.
“Are you really going to buy it for me?”
“I learned that it is not polite to open a lady’s purse when you are with her.”
‘Isn’t that only applicable to cafes and restaurants?’
In any case, it was such great luck that there was no reason to hesitate. With a lighter heart, she began to look at more and more inexpensive brooches.
“Are you sure you want to choose this?”
A large silver brooch worth 700,000 pesos was being neatly packed in a red velvet box. Walter asked curiously, watching the clerk’s busy hands.
“Yes. I think you probably have most of the others. It’s not bad to change your mood with something like this every now and then.”
“…okay.”
The Countess wouldn’t be able to throw away even trash if it was given to her by the Duke, so why bother?
Hermia’s smile shone brighter than ever.
“Then I’ll take my leave. Your Highness, you too, please be careful on your way back. Thank you for the gift.”
Walter, who was watching his fiancée-to-be return home with a smiling face and a maid, quietly raised his right hand. Then, a soldier who had been waiting behind him quickly stood next to him.
“Just make sure you get home safely.”
“Your name.”
Walter was a little puzzled by the idea of going out with only a maid and no carriage.
I heard that when you travel with the Countess, no matter how close you are, you always ride in a carriage with a lot of escorts.
Come to think of it, when we first met at the Count’s house, he looked like he had skipped a meal. His face was pale, and his gait seemed completely weightless.
“henry.”
“yes.”
“Is the abuse of illegitimate children still a common occurrence here and there?”