Chapter: 10
The Value of a Princess
“Oh my, my apologies. Now that I think about it, the items sent by His Highness the Prince the day before yesterday must have been this. I wasn’t able to report it because the Princess was resting at the time.”
The maid quickly bowed her head, her face full of embarrassment. Vivienne waved her hand with a kind expression.
“It seems there was a misunderstanding. Very well, let’s look at the other items.”
Although part of her wanted nothing more than to abandon the jewels and return to the palace, she knew that if she did, who knew what rumors might spread in the social circles tomorrow. Vivienne was well aware that many nobles disapproved of a foreign princess lingering by the Prince’s side.
She calmly scanned the display. A teardrop-shaped diamond with a rich golden hue caught her eye. Its unusual design was crafted in a pointed teardrop shape resembling a crown, and its size was enormous—roughly the size of a child’s fist at first glance. Even if she couldn’t obtain the blue diamond, this would hold its own.
Vivienne picked up the golden diamond without hesitation.
“This will do.”
The shop owner, as if he had committed a grave error, couldn’t meet her eyes and kept bowing repeatedly while wrapping the diamond. When the maid received the diamond, Vivienne, as if it were only natural, handed over a promissory note in the name of Prince Karl. The shop owner accepted it silently, as if this were standard procedure. Then, bowing deeply once more toward Vivienne’s departing party, he watched them leave.
“Thank you, Your Highness. We hope you will visit us again.”
“Ah!”
Vivienne stopped in front of the shop door as if she had forgotten something, then turned back.
“This is just out of curiosity, but between the blue diamond that His Highness the Prince took and this golden diamond, of course, the more valuable one is this golden diamond, right?”
Cold sweat ran down the shop owner’s back. The Princess’s “just curiosity” could have easily cost him his life.
“Both are extremely valuable, so it’s difficult to say which is superior.”
Vivienne turned her head slightly, lifting one side of her lips in a crooked smile as if she had already anticipated his answer.
“You know very well that this is not the answer I wanted.”
Sweat dripped from the shop owner’s head to the floor. The room was cool enough to feel refreshing, but his face gleamed with nervous perspiration. Yet, his posture spoke volumes. Vivienne clicked her tongue.
“Is there perhaps anything in this shop more valuable than this golden diamond?”
No reply came; only the shop owner bent even lower at the waist. At this rate, one might worry his waist would fold in half and stick to his legs.
After a while, the shop door opened with a jingle. The sound of light footsteps ceased, and after the door closed again, the shop owner could finally straighten his back. His face, reddened from tension, was drenched in sweat. When a clerk handed him a glass of water, he drank it in one gulp and returned the cup without a breath. Then, striding to the glass door, he checked Vivienne’s next destination.
“As expected, it’s a dress shop. Prince Karl’s pockets will feel quite light today, though no one will notice.”
“Tsk, nonsense!”
The shop owner frowned, and the clerk quickly lowered their head in response. With a gesture to leave, the clerk hurriedly cleared the table and exited. Once the shop was quiet, the owner finally checked the promissory note Vivienne had left. The section for the amount remained blank, signifying that the amount did not matter, and that the shop’s trust in the Princess was absolute.
The shop owner held the note up to the sunlight to confirm again, then ensured no one else was around. He placed the note in an envelope and locked it in a drawer. Only after that did he exhale and begin tidying the display.
“Haah!”
Whether it was a sigh of admiration or frustration, Luka looked up from the documents at Karl.
“If one indulges in love for too long, they might ruin a nation.”
“If we look at history, it has happened multiple times. But Your Highness isn’t exactly in a romance, correct? Perhaps more like a balancing act? Or careful negotiation?”
“The amount Princess Vivienne spent this morning alone is more than my entire monthly allowance.”
“You are, after all, frugal.”
Karl cast a momentary displeased glance at Luka’s casual response, but then his attention shifted to the receipts that accompanied the statements, prompting a long sigh. His lips curled in a smirk as he read a small note written at the bottom of the receipt.
“Vivienne came to buy the blue diamond but was very disappointed to find I had already bought it.”
“But she left the golden diamond behind, didn’t she? Cut in a crown shape, which suits the Princess’s taste even better. Why is that?”
“She apparently asked about the price.”
“She really can’t help her nature. She’d be much happier without comparing things.”
“People usually say that’s greed. If she weren’t greedy, we wouldn’t be here. She could have stayed comfortably in Toulouse. Yet she came all this way searching for my brother.”
“Perhaps they are simply very close siblings.”
Luka said this kindly.
“That explanation wouldn’t convince her father, the King of Toulouse. In Toulouse, the throne is determined by the magnitude of power inherited within the royal family. Leo was decided as crown prince early for that reason. Vivienne coming here with countless excuses to find Leo is likely related to that power as well.”
“What kind of power is it exactly?”
Luka frowned.
“Well… I don’t suppose it’s some magic that could cross a continent in the age of trains.”
Karl, incredulous, shook his head, and Luka continued.
“But you mustn’t underestimate it. It’s suspicious that no one remembers the crown prince’s face, especially considering his frequent public appearances before disappearing.”
“In any case, I think it’s worth it for Vivienne to pay this much to keep an eye on things.”
Karl tossed the receipts to Luka and sat down. His desk was still piled high with documents. As he opened the top sheet, he suddenly remembered something and asked Luka:
“By the way, any news from Princess Iana yet?”
“Could you specify what kind of news you are waiting for?”
Luka feigned ignorance, prompting Karl to frown.
“Don’t play games. A thank-you, a reply, anything? Has she come looking for me? Why is it so quiet? This never happened before, not even when I sent such a gift.”
Luka finally lifted his head, glanced at Karl, and grinned.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The Princess ate your gift and ran off.”
“What?”
Luka set aside the signed documents and spoke.
“Your Highness, you’ve always known, haven’t you? Even when the Princess carefully selected gifts for you, you never sent a reply or a corresponding token. I, as your aide, know this best.”
“So?”
“I believe the Princess has finally realized: ‘Ah, this man has no feelings for me whatsoever.’”
Karl, momentarily speechless, asked to confirm.
“Really? No reply or thanks at all? Even for the blue diamond? What about the dress?”
“Your Highness, men who keep score like that aren’t popular. In fact, you’ve received far more from the Princess than she from you. Even if she pretends not to notice this time, you’ve already received enough to have no reason to complain. And of course, you instructed her not to send thanks or return gifts each time.”
Karl groaned and fell silent. The room finally settled into the quiet Luka preferred. Luka smiled, picked up the next document, but after a while, felt something strange and looked up again.
“Your Highness, you must process these documents quickly so the Empire can run peacefully tomorrow.”
It was a gentle threat, but Karl seemed unable to focus. He picked up a document, set it down again, and drifted into thought.
“Your Highness?”
“Has another man appeared around the Princess?”
“How should I know? I’ve only been here working for Your Highness. I could find out if necessary, but you never showed interest in the Princess, did you? Were you surprised by her sudden coldness? You used to find her rather troublesome.”
“Anyway, didn’t she faint at the palace banquet? At least a conscience should care this much.”
Luka’s gaze sharpened.
“Is that all?”
“Yes, what else would there be?”
Luka looked at Karl silently, then returned to the documents.
“Rulers sometimes don’t need a conscience. And Your Highness has faithfully followed that path.”
Luka, gracefully implying that his lord lacked conscience, pushed aside the signed documents and opened new ones. Karl frowned at Luka’s ambiguous remark, and Luka continued, flipping through papers expressionlessly:
“The person who collapsed at the banquet was not only the Princess. Marquis Lemarchand passed away. The royal family compensated and investigated, but the dead cannot return. I honestly feel more pity for him. He was a remarkable man.”
“Marquis Lemarchand was eighty-seven. That’s a long enough life.”
Luka’s hand hesitated. His piercing blue eyes stared at Karl.
“He was still needed in Valuwa. I do not mean to disparage the current Marquis Lemarchand, but Mr. Alis cannot be compared to Mr. Melen. Truly remarkable.”
Luka seemed sincere. Having been friends since childhood, Karl could not have missed the expression in his eyes.
“It seems Duke Shoud sincerely liked Marquis Lemarchand. How curious… How could one like that uncourtly old man?”
