Chapter 20
“P-please wait just a moment!”
The woman clutched the sketch I’d given her tightly in both hands and hurried into the back of the shop.
She looked absolutely delighted—like she could already smell the money.
“What are you planning to do with that?” Matthias asked, his tone curious as he watched me.
I shrugged casually.
“Make a mouse trap.”
“…A trap?”
“Yup. I’m going to make sure he falls right into it.”
What Xavier was after right now were the remaining heirlooms from the late Countess.
‘He wants to take them all for himself.’
Then he’d sell them off, fill his pockets, and turn around to pressure me—telling me to hurry and repay the debt. Typical.
“So, I figured I’d make a masterpiece for him.”
I wasn’t the only one who could play dirty, after all.
***
Counterfeit.
That was my plan to fool Xavier — fake heirlooms.
‘Make replicas of the jewels,’ simple as that.
But they couldn’t look cheap or sloppy.
Xavier had spent years slithering through the underworld; he’d seen his fair share of jewels.
He wouldn’t fall for something half-baked.
If he was greedy enough to covet the Countess’s jewelry, then he must believe they were truly valuable.
So, the fakes had to look convincing — if not identical, then at least close enough to fool his greedy eyes.
“These are all the gemstones I have!” said the woman, introducing herself as Selina. She brought out several more jewelry cases.
Even if they were all imitations, each gem had a slightly different color and shape.
Good craftsmanship could make those differences smaller, but the natural hue of the stones couldn’t be changed.
To make a perfect fake, I had to find ones that matched the original’s color as closely as possible.
“You’ve come to the right place,” Selina said proudly. “You won’t find anyone in the capital who knows gems or craftsmanship better than I do!”
“Really?” I asked, smiling politely.
“Of course! I don’t know how you heard about me, but you’ve chosen well!”
Selina clapped her hands happily, beaming.
I smiled too, glancing down at the trays of gemstones spread across the table.
‘Yeah, I did come to the right person.’
In the original novel, Selina was actually a rather memorable side character—though not for good reasons.
The heroine had once hired her to craft a necklace for a royal, but Selina made a fake instead, humiliating her completely.
She’d basically existed to cause trouble for the protagonist.
But there was no denying her skill.
She was one of the best counterfeiters around—skilled enough to fool even professional appraisers.
With her help, Xavier wouldn’t suspect a thing.
“The design is beautiful, by the way,” Selina said with a wink. “Are you making this for yourself? You’ll look stunning in it!”
“Is this all you have?” I asked flatly.
“I brought everything from the shop’s backroom!” she said cheerfully.
“Hmm, really?”
I examined the gems again. They were fine, but something was missing.
The colors weren’t quite what I needed.
‘I’m sure she’s holding out on me.’
Merchants like her never showed their best goods right away.
Even during my old business meetings, sellers would always “accidentally forget” their top-quality pieces until after some haggling.
And this was the backstreets, after all.
There was no way she’d shown me her full hand yet.
“Well, that’s disappointing.”
I said it lightly—but loud enough for her to hear.
“Pardon?” she blinked, feigning surprise.
I pulled out a small pouch from my sleeve. Clink, clink.
The sound of coins made her eyes gleam.
I set the heavy pouch on the table with deliberate slowness.
“I was planning to pay a deposit if I found something I liked.”
“……”
“And by deposit, I don’t mean advance payment. It’s just free money.”
Her eyes widened at that.
Yes—literal free money.
“But if this is all you have…” I sighed dramatically. “Maybe I should try another shop.”
“W-wait!”
“It’s a shame, but I guess I can’t blame you. You just don’t have what I’m looking for—”
“I do! I do have more!”
Selina cut me off mid-sentence, voice rising in panic. I tilted my head innocently and started to pick the pouch back up.
“But didn’t you just say—”
“I said I brought everything from the shop’s backroom. I didn’t say anything about my personal stash, did I?”
Wow.
Her shamelessness could almost rival mine.
‘Business really is brutal.’
Gathering up the jewelry cases she’d already shown me, Selina straightened her back.
“P-please don’t go anywhere! I’ll be right back!”
Her eyes stayed glued to the pouch until the moment she disappeared into the back.
As soon as she was gone, I leaned toward Matthias and whispered,
“Don’t ever learn from people like that, okay?”
I was going to raise him right—step by step.
No need for him to learn about the darker sides of capitalism.
“Just focus on pretty things.”
“Pretty things?” he repeated.
“Yeah. Things that are beautiful, good, and kind.”
Matthias tilted his head slightly, then looked straight at me—without blinking.
“…What?”
When I asked, he spoke quietly.
“You said to learn from pretty things.”
“Uh-huh?”
He didn’t look away, his voice calm and steady.
“Something pretty.”
“…?”
He smiled faintly, eyes curving into half-moons.
“Here.”
For a second, I couldn’t move.
When that gentle smile spread across his face, I shot to my feet instinctively.
“S-Sir?”
Selina’s voice startled me—she had come back just then, calling out to me anxiously.
She probably thought I was about to leave.
But I barely heard her. My heart was pounding too loud.
I quickly sat back down, turning my face away and squeezing my hands under the table.
‘W-What was that?!’
Where on earth had he learned to say things like that?!
***
“These are the finest sapphires in my collection!” Selina announced proudly, opening a large case. “Even high-end salons can’t get cuts this clean!”
I tried to calm my still-racing heartbeat and leaned forward to inspect them.
Inside the transparent case, sapphires and diamonds sparkled brilliantly.
The sapphires in particular shone a deep, ocean-blue—like someone had scooped up the heart of the sea.
‘As expected.’
I’d known she was hiding something good.
These were by far the highest quality gems she’d shown so far.
The perfect match.
‘This is it.’
Of course, it wasn’t identical to the original heirloom, but it was close enough to fool someone like Xavier for a while.
Even the rough-cut diamonds that would be used as decoration were bright and flawless enough to pass as real.
“Perfect. I’ll take these.”
“An excellent choice!” Selina said, pressing a hand to her chest in relief. “I never show these to just anyone!”
She grabbed a notebook from nearby to jot down the details.
“All right, I’ll start working based on your sketch. Any specific deadline you need it by? I’ll do my best to—”
“Four days.”
“…Sorry?”
Selina froze.
I didn’t budge. “You have four days.”
The auction wasn’t far off now—
and honestly, even that was me being generous.
“B-but that’s impossible!” Selina stammered, her face going pale.
“This level of precision and detail—it usually takes at least two months for a full necklace and earring set—”
“I’ll pay by check,” I said calmly. “A blank one.”
Her panic vanished instantly.
A wide grin spread across her face.
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead, my lady!”
