Chapter 26

At first impression, one would notice his hat which was worn in a skewed way. His clothes were that of an aristocrat, yet his posture was poor. Nevertheless, as if to show a neat appearance, the man was wearing gloves.

What surprised Cecia the most was the fact that the man was still young. Ralph looked to be almost in a similar age as her. His face also seemed more polished than expected. It was a type of face that would make women do a double-take.

When the carriage stopped, Cecia got off the carriage carefully. And before she got to give her greeting, the man griped,

“Why are you so late?”

He jumped on the carriage. In the first place, he had not intended on receiving her greeting. Cecia held a bewildered expression. It seemed he didn’t even have any intention of escorting her inside either.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

He heard him shout boisterously inside the carriage.

“…I’m coming.”

Eventually, she went inside with the assistance of the coachman. Even while they were sitting face to face in the carriage, he did not seem even remotely interested in looking at her.

“I am Cecia Royne.”

Despite Cecia’s greeting, he glanced at her with disinterest. As it was her first time receiving such discourtesy, she gripped the hem of the dress.

“I heard a lot about you from my father.”

Nevertheless, she continued to smile. At her words, Ralph began to chuckle.

“What did your father say about me?”

At Ralph’s words, Cecia became embarrassed. Normally, people would respond by saying ‘Is that so?’. She had never encountered someone who had actually followed up on the question.

“So what did the lord say about me?”

Ralph knew that Ben would not have told their actual relationship. Most likely, Ben would have spoken about him in a positive light, saying he aided Ben in his business. Ben wouldn’t have talked about anything else.

“Rather than talking about me, wouldn’t he have just asked you to accompany me quietly?”

Once again, Cecia became flustered at his remark.

Unlike Ben, she seemed to be a bad liar. Her face, which contained ocean-like eyes, was something an average man would like.

However, she wasn’t Ralph’s type. His taste was a sprightly woman. He liked the sorrow hidden in that liveliness.

“So why don’t we just have a quiet ride to the mansion.”

He wasn’t even her type, so how could he be in the mood for small talk. Afterward, the silence that he desired finally descended on the carriage.

***

Roman and Prillance were inside a jeweler’s shop. Beautiful jewels were dazzlingly twinkling their own color.

“They’re beautiful.”

When she peered at the jewels that she had never seen before in real life, her eyes became sore as each gem brightly shone their own color.

“Choose whatever you fancy.”

Roman told Prillance, who only stared at but did not try on the jewelry around her.

“I think that is the most difficult part.”

Prillance was hesitant because the gems in all sorts of colors were all so pretty.

Roman observed her. If it were her usual self, she would have immediately asked for the most expensive jewelry at once, or have asked to bring out the rarest gem they had, but today she was silent and only gazed at them.

‘Then, as she says, she must really like everything here.’

“This is a Topaz – it is the latest in our collection.”

As they were regulars of the shop, the shopkeeper pointed to the most expensive jewelry available in the shop. She knew that Lady Weiand only took the most valuable jewel each time.

“It’s beautiful.”

However, Prillance’s gaze only lingered for a short time. Then she scanned through the jewels once more before looking at Roman.

“What does the Duke think?”

“Is my opinion important?”

Choosing jewelry was usually at the women’s discretion. In the same way that it was the prerogative of the men to pay for the jewelry. He found Prillance’s question unusual. Hence, Roman asked back.

“You are my partner, after all.”

Prillance stated with a slight smile, as if she didn’t find her own question strange. Then her eyes turned toward the jewels once more and she fell deep in thought.

“Then, what about this one?”

Prillance pointed to the Alexandrite. The owner described it as a mysterious gem, although it appeared to be blue at first glance, in the dark however, it cast an amethyst hue.

It was mentioned in the novel that the blonde-haired Roman suited navy blue, so she thought this jewel would be a good match for his outfit.

“If I wear this with my dress, then I think it wouldn’t be necessary for you to match the color of my clothes with the buttons on your jacket.”

“You don’t want the color of our outfits to match?”

Usually, it was common for partners to match the colors of their outfits. If their outfits weren’t matching, then they couldn’t be said to be partners. Didn’t she ask him to be her partner?

If that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have come here. Roman’s forehead frowned as he mused over Prillance’s intentions.

“The color that suits the Duke and the color that suits me is different. But when people see me wear this jewelry, it will indicate that we are partners even if we wear different-colored outfits.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Roman exhale in relief. Of course, he agreed to this himself, but he still became startled. Prillance laughed. Perhaps Cecia and Roman suited similar colors, so it wasn’t difficult to choose their wardrobe, but Prillance and Roman suited different colors.

She made the proposal as she figured it would be better to match through the jewel’s hue. Furthermore, since aristocrats were sensitive to the jewelry that others wear, it would be easy for them to recognize that the two matched.

“Then, we should get the finest one.”

Finally understanding Prillance’s intention, Roman glanced through the jewels once more. Then, he looked at the Topaz that the owner recommended.

“Red Diamond.”

At his words, the owner’s complexion changed. The owner, who would usually bring the jewels right away, was instead frozen in place.

“Is there none?”

“Ah…that…someone else has already…bought it.”

The hesitant owner carefully replied. This was a difficult situation he had been hoping to avoid.

“There is no way you only had one red diamond in your store.”

“W, well…they’re all sold out.”

Roman stared at the owner, who wore a flustered look and began to sweat profusely. Prillance tried to read Roman’s expression, however, she couldn’t tell what Roman was thinking.

“All of them?”

Roman ascertained as he contemplated over the situation. It was known to be the most expensive jewel. Buying all of them would have cost a lot of money.

“Who was it?”

At the same time that Roman asked the question, a knock on the door coming from the outside was heard. It sounded faint, but inside the shop which contained only three people, the sound was distinct.