Chapter 44
Dong-hee, eyes wide with curiosity, beamed at Eileen, who had been staring at the bracelet for a long time.
“Why? Do you like it?”
Her tone was as innocent as a child’s.
“…Yeah. Oh? No. It’s just that it suits you so well.”
Eileen tried to play it off, but her eyes stayed fixed on the bracelet and necklace.
She had more than enough to give something like this without a second thought, but Dong-hee had no intention of giving either of them even a single lump of dural from the Grace territory.
“Thanks.”
Dong-hee shook off Eileen’s hand from her arm and answered casually.
For a moment, Eileen felt as though she had been outdone by Chloe. That had never happened before.
Surprise flickered across her face, but she quickly returned to her usual composed and gentle expression.
Chloe tried not to look at the jewels Eileen was wearing. Chloe was soft-hearted; if coaxed a little, she would easily hand over whatever she was wearing—just like the ring she had on now.
As Eileen fondled the ring to savor her fading sense of triumph, Dong-hee’s gaze naturally followed the movement and landed on her hand. And there, she recognized a familiar ring. It was the very same ring worn by the woman in the portrait.
“That ring…”
“Oh, this? You lent it to me, remember? To wear at my birthday party.”
Already thirsting for that triumphant feeling, Eileen spread her fingers and answered smugly.
See? You’re just a fool who laughs when I tell you to laugh, and bends when I tell you to bend.
The ring with its blue gemstone gleamed on Eileen’s slender finger.
Sunlight streamed into the drawing room, catching on the gem and scattering a dazzling light. And suddenly, like dust floating in the air, Chloe’s memories came flooding back into Dong-hee’s mind.
“Chloe, that ring is so pretty. Can I try it on just once?”
“Oh? Ah… this is my mother’s keepsake.”
Chloe hesitated, unconsciously cupping the ring in her palm. Eileen, looking terribly disappointed, flopped down on the bed and hung her head.
“Really? I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was your mother’s keepsake.”
Chloe was relieved, thinking Eileen had given up. But—
“Wouldn’t it be even more meaningful if you lent me your mother’s keepsake? Anyone who saw us would think we’re the closest cousins in the world.”
“But…”
The foolish Chloe couldn’t bring herself to say no and only clutched the ring tighter. In that moment, Eileen suddenly sprang up, striding over to grab Chloe’s hand with the ring.
“Just let me try it on once. I’ll give it right back, okay?”
Eileen’s tone was pleading, but her eyes already shone with a victor’s gleam.
“You have to give it back right away.”
Chloe, masking her unease, emphasized again and again.
“Of course. Have you ever seen me break a promise? And I give you plenty of gifts, too.”
Although she didn’t want to, Chloe reluctantly slipped the ring off at Eileen’s assurance.
The ring, set with a finely crafted blue diamond, was her mother’s keepsake and the symbol of the Grace family’s matron.
In an instant, the ring was on Eileen’s finger.
“Oh my, it fits me perfectly! And it matches my dress so well, don’t you think?”
Indeed, the blue dress she was wearing looked as though it had been chosen to match the ring. Chloe’s unease grew stronger.
“Can you give it back now?”
It was the first time Chloe had ever asked to have something returned after lending it. And that alone made Eileen want it more.
Eileen, gazing down at the ring with a prim expression, smiled faintly and hid her hand behind her back.
“I’ll just wear it until dinner.”
But after dinner, she said she’d return it in the morning. The next morning, she said after lunch. And then—
That night, while Chloe slept, Eileen left only a short note saying she’d borrow it until the party, and took off with the ring.
That evening, Chloe cried for the first time. Delma asked her again and again why, but she only shook her head. If she told the truth, Eileen might never come see her again.
Alone in her room, Chloe wept silently. Dong-hee could feel those hot tears as if they were her own.
Too stupid to even ask for it back properly, she agonized over it until she fell ill for three days.
And yet, when she received a letter saying Eileen would come visit again, she happily spent what little money she had to buy her a gift.
Chloe had done her utmost to win even a small corner of Eileen and Patrasche’s hearts.
They were family, after all.
Looking at the two people decked out from head to toe in expensive things, Dong-hee swallowed down her rising anger.
First of all, she had to get back Chloe’s mother’s keepsake ring. That much she could at least do for her.
“Give it here.”
“What?”
“The ring. Now.”
“You said I could borrow it until my birthday.”
Eileen protested, but Dong-hee didn’t wait for an answer. She grabbed Eileen’s hand.
Without another word, she yanked the ring off her finger.
“Ow!”
“Chloe! What on earth are you doing?”
In her struggle to keep the ring, Eileen scratched her finger on the diamond. The startled viscount leapt up to check his daughter’s injury.
Blood streamed from her slender finger.
“It’s mine. You took it without my permission. I never agreed to let you have it.”
“What are you talking about? I clearly—”
“You left a note and took it while I was sleeping. That’s stealing, Eileen.”
“What? Stealing? How dare you say that to me?”
Eileen was in disbelief. Not only had Chloe Grace dared to defy her, she had even called her a thief—
And in front of the servants, no less.
Rage surged up in her chest. But she knew that if she lashed out, her father would scold her once they returned home. She forced herself to calm down.
She quickly adopted a pitiful, remorseful expression.
“I didn’t realize you felt that way. I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I should’ve known how much more precious it must be since it’s your mother’s keepsake. I was careless.”
Dong-hee narrowed her eyes, not expecting Eileen to react this way. She had to figure out what that sly fox was plotting. Surely her father knew his daughter’s true nature.
Watching closely, she noticed that every time Eileen squeezed out a tear, she glanced at the servants in the room.
Well, well… so you care about your reputation with the help?
She was more cunning than expected, and far more calculating than Dong-hee had guessed. This was not someone to take lightly. Dong-hee decided to keep quiet and see how she played it.
Seeing Chloe only blinking in silence, Eileen sighed and continued.
“You’re really precious to me. That’s why I thought I could give you anything that’s precious to me. So I thought… you felt the same way. I’m really sorry.”
Finally, Eileen even let out a sob.
Her maid rushed over in alarm to check her mistress’s face, shooting Chloe a reproachful look—as if to say, How could you bully someone so kind?
Birds of a feather flock together.
Dong-hee looked at the two—no, the three of them—with irritation, deciding to see just how far this would go.
In that case, it would be better to play along.
“No, Eileen, I was too sensitive. It’s not like I don’t know how you feel. You’re precious to me too.”
Ugh!
She forced down the gag rising in her throat and delivered the performance of her life.
It seemed to work, because Eileen’s sad expression vanished, replaced with a bright smile as she clasped Chloe’s hands tightly.
“Then we’re making up?”
“Hahaha, of course. We never even fought, hahaha! But I still can’t lend you the ring.”
“Oh my, of course. I have plenty of rings myself.”
Her smile trembled ever so slightly from the effort.
“Really? Then why did you—hahaha.”
—My score for that performance… 17 points out of 100. You have great potential as a bad actress.
The sudden pop-up evaluation from the status window made Dong-hee’s eyes bulge. She wanted to yell at it to get lost, but since she couldn’t say it out loud, she screamed it internally.
Get lost. I never asked you to judge my acting!
But the status window just teased her, letting the score bounce between the high teens and mid-teens before finally displaying an average of 16.5… then vanishing.
She was still thinking how utterly useless it was when—
—An opportunity to upgrade the user’s acting skills.
No matter how untalented you are, we can give you superb acting ability that will fool anyone.
Would you like to purchase?
I’ve only got 30 points left. What can I even buy with that?
—Don’t worry. Points can be loaned.
A loan? You mean debt?
—Debt? No, no. Hidden Points naturally accumulate over time! You’d just be using them in advance.
With your low credit rating, you can borrow between 100 and 500 points.
But Dong-hee hated debt so much she’d wake up in the middle of the night at the mere thought of it.
Forget it. I refuse.
—Even with our incredibly low interest rates?
She was a little tempted. Let’s hear it, then. How much?
—A rate you’ll never see anywhere else: 25%! How about it? Right now you can—
If she could get her hands on it, she’d chop it into twenty-five pieces and boil it like dural ore.
As if it had heard her thoughts, the status window went “Whoops!” and split into exactly twenty-five fragments, scattering in all directions.
Each piece was stamped with the words Low Credit! 25%.
