Chapter 49
“I will present all the jewels I brought here today to the future Duchess. Please, forgive me for my wrongdoing.”
“All the jewels?”
The Marchioness, who had been silently watching until now, widened her eyes in shock. Giving away all the jewels here? That was a fortune beyond imagination.
But Countess Cale didn’t feel even a shred of regret. If today’s mistake had gotten out, she would have had to shut down her jewelry business anyway.
“No, you don’t have to do that. I said I wouldn’t blame you for what happened today.”
“But still…”
“I actually want to try something. The Duke taught me a magic spell, you see.”
“A magic spell?”
Irie nodded and stood up from her seat.
Then, with the Lazuli key in her hand, she started from the first jewel in the first row of the table.
“From here.”
All the way to the last accessory set in the fourth row.
“To there.”
She swept her hand across the display.
“I’ll buy all of it!”
What more needed to be said?
Not just Countess Cale, but even the employees of the jewelry store all fell for Irie at that moment.
All the uncut gems purchased that day were placed in the vault until the final jewelry designs could be decided.
The accessory sets were gifted to Lady Vanessa and the Marchioness, who had taken a liking to them. One was set aside as a gift for Lady Bell, and the rest were sent to the dressing room at the Iris residence.
Once the accessories for the banquet were decided, choosing the dress designs became relatively easy.
“I brought the design of the dress I want to wear! Make it like this!”
Lady Bell, who arrived late at the Iris residence after her writing lessons, handed over her sketchbook, causing the designer to break into a nervous sweat…
But with my help interpreting the design, Lady Bell was also able to get the dress she wanted.
By the time everything was wrapped up, it was already evening.
‘But didn’t I spend way too much today…? Is it really okay?’
Did I maybe get too swept up in the moment and go overboard?
I felt like I had to go ask the Duke. If it wasn’t too late, maybe there was still time to take it back.
“Future Duchess, I have so many questions—can I ask you something?”
“Huh? What is it?”
Just before heading to the Lapis residence to have dinner with the Duke, while changing into something more casual, Alicia asked me a question.
“Countess Cale—how did you think to handle the situation that way?”
“Oh, that. One of the staff members looked like she was really trembling.”
It was obvious. What happened today had clearly been a mistake caused by that employee.
“I’ve worked a lot of jobs before, and I know the most uncomfortable situation for a staff member is when they make a mistake and the boss comes out and apologizes for them.”
In that situation, the boss—who had to step in out of nowhere—would naturally turn their anger toward the employee who made the mistake.
I figured that worker would be severely scolded, possibly fired, or even worse, held responsible for the damage.
That’s why I declined when Countess Cale tried to offer all the jewels as an apology.
“To be honest, when I realized there was something wrong with the gem, I did wonder if it had been done on purpose to test me.”
“Oh my, you’re already getting used to noble politics. And then?”
“So I decided to treat it as something Countess Cale had planned from the start, and I’d forgive her—then everything could be swept under the rug without anyone getting seriously hurt.”
“You’re so generous… But how did you even tell there was something wrong with that gem just from a glance? Countess Cale needed a magnifying glass to notice it was fake.”
“Hmm… That jewel was sparkling too much, you know?”
“Really? A fake sparkles more than a real one?”
Alicia tilted her head in confusion, but I had no way to explain it further, so I just laughed.
‘I’ve been like this since I was little…’
It was the same back on the ranch, in restaurants, and at the bar.
Injured or sick dairy cows. Meat or eggs that had gone bad without anyone noticing. Lost wallets, disguised fugitives…
Whenever I needed to pay attention to something—or someone—there was always a strange sparkle around them. Like someone was giving me a signal.
‘Why am I the only one who sees things like that?’
I could only hope that someday, I’d find out the reason.
Rare pearls, diamonds, and alexandrite turned into full matching jewelry sets.
Not only that, but I also had four or five dresses, hats, and shoes custom-made with brand new designs.
Since Elkiers placed a limit on the Duchess’s dignity budget, this was the first time such extravagant spending had occurred. The Marchioness was so pleased, she even began to think:
‘If I brought in a sharp-tongued girl as Duchess, she’d probably try to weaken my influence. Wouldn’t it be better to raise a clueless girl who doesn’t know the ways of the world and train her to my liking?’
If Irie had just handed over a single jewel to shut her up, the Marchioness would’ve been offended. But since Irie gave her an entire haul of jewels and dresses that suited her tastes perfectly, she was in an amazing mood.
Absolutely thrilled!
‘Yes. Since she knows nothing, I’ll have to teach her everything from scratch. Elkiers also promised not to interfere with that much.’
The Marchioness began mentally drafting a curriculum for how she’d educate Irie.
But before she could finish even a rough outline, her good mood shattered completely.
“Say that again? What did you just say?”
“The future Duchess was concerned about your health and sent me on her behalf.”
The doctor who had taken over as the Duke’s physician after the former Duke died and the staff at the Lapis residence changed out, bowed before the Marchioness.
“I heard you’ve been losing consciousness frequently lately. It could be a sign of a serious health issue, so please allow me to examine you.”
However, although he bowed, there was something bold in his attitude and tone.
That boldness only made the Marchioness angrier.
“So the physician of the Delphinium residence is just a scarecrow in your eyes? Now that you’re the Duke’s personal doctor, you think you’re above everyone?”
“I’m only following orders. I don’t have the authority to force a patient. If you refuse, I’ll leave.”
“A mere doctor dares to use the Duke’s name to mock me? Before I call someone to drag you out—get lost!”
Despite the Marchioness’s harsh words, the Lapis residence’s physician didn’t so much as flinch.
“Then I’ll inform His Grace that you refused the examination.”
“Out! Didn’t you hear me say get out?!”
“Yes. I’ll leave as you commanded.”
Even the way he bowed infuriated her more.
As soon as the physician left, the Marchioness grabbed one of the jewelry boxes she had received that day.
“That wretched girl dares mock me!”
But she didn’t throw it. Just before the box could be hurled, the last thread of reason whispered into her ear how valuable the gems inside were.
“Ugh, argh! So frustrating!”
In the end, instead of hurling the jewelry, she tore apart another feather cushion on the sofa.
The maids watching silently let out a sigh of relief. If the precious jewelry had been scratched or damaged, making it unwearable or unsellable, they had no idea how long the Marchioness’s rage would have lasted.
“Ma’am, please calm down.”
As always, it was Olbia’s job to soothe the angry Marchioness.
She brought her a cup of cold mint tea and gently rubbed her back.
“Indeed, even I think that woman’s arrogance has gone too far.”
“Right? Doesn’t it seem like she’s mocking me too?”
Olbia nodded.
“She’s the reason you’ve been fainting more often lately…”
“That’s what I’m saying. She doesn’t even know her place and has been stirring things up inside the estate—how could I not get sick from stress?”
The Marchioness took a long sip of her mint tea, then let out a deep sigh as she praised Olbia.
“I almost collapsed again today. I’m only holding on thanks to you.”
“You flatter me.”
Olbia quietly refilled the empty cup with more mint tea.
The Marchioness, unaware of the strange look Olbia was giving her, brought the teacup to her lips almost automatically.
