Chapter 48
“Wow… These pearls sparkle like they’ve been dusted with stardust. They have such a fascinating charm.”
“Hoho! The future Duchess certainly has a keen eye. These are very special pearls. Among the most expensive pearls, these are rare ones called Stardust Pearls.”
Though they were all pearls, the color changed depending on the angle the light hit them—sometimes appearing white, sometimes golden.
I couldn’t hide my admiration.
“They’re so beautiful. I think this pearl set would suit the Madam perfectly.”
When I turned toward the Madam to ask her opinion, she looked a bit surprised and pointed at herself with the hand holding her fan.
“M-Me?”
“Yes. Do you perhaps not like pearls?”
“Well… I do like them.”
After a small cough, the Madam gave a slight nod toward Countess Kail.
“Let me see them, then.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Just as I expected, the pearl set looked absolutely stunning on the Madam.
It seemed she thought so too, because she asked the Countess if there were more sets like this, and the Countess promptly brought out dozens of pearl sets.
‘Wow, did she bring the entire contents of the jewelry store with her?’
As I marveled at how the jewels were being laid out one after another with just a few claps of the hand, Countess Kail asked me in a gentle voice.
“Is there no gem that catches your eye, future Duchess?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You’ve been picking out jewelry for Miss Vanessa and the Madam so far.”
The Countess smiled at me, and suddenly, the Duke’s voice came to mind.
“Remember. Showing signs of poverty in front of a merchant is the same as asking them to look down on you.”
“Go on, Airi. Pick something for yourself too.”
“Ahem… Well, I suppose I could lend my discerning eye.”
Even Miss Vanessa and the Madam, now surrounded by brilliant pearls, surprisingly encouraged me warmly.
“Hmm… I…”
Was now the time to use the magic words the Duke had taught me?
As I looked over the jewelry displayed in the case, that’s when it happened.
‘Huh?’
Under the enchanted lights set up by the store staff, all the jewels sparkled from multiple angles.
But among them, one stone in particular shimmered as if it were shouting, Look at me!
It was a blue gemstone on the table where the raw stones were first displayed.
“This one…”
“Oh my, does that one catch your eye? What exquisite taste! That’s the only rough blue diamond in our store!”
“Ah, no, it’s not that I particularly liked it…”
As I hesitated, unsure how to respond, the color suddenly drained from Countess Kail’s face.
“Excuse me… may I take a look at that?”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
She took the blue diamond from me and examined it with a grave expression. Then, shutting her eyes tightly for a moment, she turned and shouted to the staff standing behind her.
“Bring me my magnifying glass! Quickly!”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!”
Wearing the magnifying glass handed to her, Countess Kail began inspecting the blue diamond.
The Madam, seeming to understand what had just happened, clicked her tongue and snapped open her fan.
“It appears the Countess has made a grave mistake.”
What on earth was going on?
I looked at Countess Kail with concern.
Oh dear heavens…
Countess Kail couldn’t believe her eyes.
Why is a fake here?
She took off the magnifier from her right eye and glared sharply at the assistant manager.
She had over 20 years of experience as a gem appraiser. The assistant manager immediately realized something was wrong and instinctively turned to his right.
There stood his apprentice, trembling with a pale face.
He had good hands and sharp eyes, which was why she had personally trained him. It was unthinkable that he would make such a mistake.
This is the end for me…
Countess Kail shut her eyes tight.
Regardless of who had made the mistake, it happened at a location she had personally visited.
Worse, she didn’t even realize the blue diamond was a fake until Airi pointed it out.
Presenting a counterfeit to a valuable customer—this would shatter the credibility of the store she had built. She could already imagine a line of angry customers demanding refunds, accusing her of selling them fakes too.
First, I need to salvage this situation.
Thankfully, the person she needed to appeal to wasn’t the Madam.
If it had been the Madam, she would have raised her voice and stormed out already. Instead, she calmly fanned herself, watching both Countess Kail and Airi closely.
She was likely waiting to see how Airi would resolve the situation.
“Future Duchess.”
Countess Kail knelt before Airi.
All the staff followed her lead and also knelt. Shocked, Airi waved her hands frantically.
“W-What are you all doing? Please stand up!”
“In our eagerness to present only the finest gems suitable for esteemed guests, we made the grave error of failing to separate a counterfeit that had gotten mixed in.”
“A counterfeit?”
“If you’ve ever passed by our store, you might’ve seen it too.”
“Oh… you mean the gems displayed behind the big windows?”
“Yes, exactly.”
To attract passersby, the store displayed their most prized and expensive gems behind the large windows by the entrance.
But after this trend—originating in the capital—spread across the empire, it led to countless thefts.
So, jewelers began replacing the window displays with imitations, only bringing out the real ones when serious buyers inquired.
“Ah, I see.”
“I don’t know what words could express our remorse. Please, tell us how we may earn your forgiveness.”
Countess Kail waited nervously for Airi’s answer.
Not just her—the staff, the Madam, and even Vanessa were all watching, wondering what Airi would say.
After a moment of silence, Airi finally spoke.
“I understand what happened. You were testing me, right? To see if I could distinguish a fake from the real thing?”
“Pardon?”
Countess Kail was about to deny it in alarm.
But then her eyes widened in realization. As if to hide her flustered expression, she bowed her head deeply.
“To think you saw through that… Indeed, you’re right. I dared to test the insight of the future Duchess. Please punish me without mercy.”
“It’s fine. Honestly, I just learned about many of these gems for the first time today. Thanks to you, Countess, my knowledge has expanded. So I won’t hold this against you.”
“…The grace you’ve shown us… no words could do it justice.”
Countess Kail was deeply moved. She had not expected such mercy.
How is she so thoughtful…?
Airi had several options for resolving this.
She could have lashed out and thrown the Countess out, forgiven her, or left it as a debt to be repaid.
The Countess actually hoped Airi would choose the third option.
If she owed Airi a debt, she could swear everyone present to secrecy and later repay that debt however Airi wished.
But Airi chose something completely unexpected.
She framed the incident as an intentional test by the Countess to see her discernment—not as a mistake.
Of course, a subordinate testing their future superior would be frowned upon.
But Airi not only passed the “test” with flying colors—she magnanimously forgave it as well.
Now the story had become one of her virtue.
Whether to protect the Countess’s reputation so she could keep working as a merchant, or to enhance her own reputation with clever handling—either way,
Airi had brilliantly proven her capabilities as the future Duchess.
