Chapter 6
“His Grace?”
Hermia’s eyes widened in surprise as she asked. Madame’s face lit up with excitement as she wrinkled her nose.
“Why would someone who has never set foot in a jewelry store come here! He must be here to buy a gift for his beautiful fiancée.”
The Duke came to choose my gift himself?
As soon as she heard Madame’s words, her heart began to race uncontrollably.
“But we’re not officially engaged yet…”
She tried to downplay it, but it seemed she couldn’t hide her anticipation. Madame openly scoffed and pushed her forward.
“Well, that’s just a matter of time, isn’t it? Besides, such a romantic coincidence is rare. Go up and greet him. Make sure to choose something expensive and nice!”
So that was the purpose. Thanks to Madame revealing her intentions so openly, Hermia felt somewhat calmer.
Reluctantly, Hermia followed her guidance up the stairs. She paused for a moment to engrave the scene before her into her memory.
In front of the glass display case lined with various jewelry pieces stood a man whose atmosphere felt strikingly out of place here.
Even from the first time she saw him, she felt that Walter Rockford was the type who stood out among others.
Otherwise, there would have been no way to recognize him instantly among similarly dressed men.
Hermia felt that even if there were hundreds of people in the square, she could easily spot Walter.
‘A man choosing a gift somehow looks even more handsome.’
She slowly approached Walter, who was deep in thought with his arms crossed.
“Hello, Your Grace.”
He had been so engrossed that he continued staring at the display case until his subordinates took a couple of steps back when Hermia approached him.
Walter looked up with a slightly surprised expression.
“Lady Hermia.”
With his long legs, he reached her in just a few steps and naturally extended his hand.
A man with perfect wealth, looks, physique, voice, and even manners!
In just their second meeting, Hermia made a firm resolution.
‘Don’t fall for him!’
Even now she was trembling like this; marrying such a man would surely make her melt away like soft butter.
Could she really accept him coming home late at night or early in the morning because of other women?
Among the nobility known for their good looks, Hermia knew there were no men without lovers. Her biological father, Count Arnold, was one such example; she herself was living proof of that outcome.
Fredrick also had decent features despite having a somewhat broad forehead, yet he too had several women he met separately.
Even knowing this, she had decided to marry him because he was so honest that he listed the names of his lovers in his letters.
[These are all the women I have met so far. I swear by the name of Cotton that after our marriage, I will cut ties with all of them and devote myself only to Lady Hermia.]
She thought it better to deal with someone like Fredrick who was refreshingly straightforward rather than someone who pretended otherwise behind her back. At least there wouldn’t be any fear of betrayal.
That said, she absolutely didn’t want to end up with an ugly man.
Anyway, she had just decided to absolutely not fall for Walter Rockford. If she were to marry him, she would likely end up as the tragic heroine of a melodrama.
‘I don’t need alimony. I just need you. Walter!’
‘How tiresome! I love Mel Greenwood, not you!’
It felt strangely realistic. In an instant, as Hermia let her imagination run wild to that extent, she suddenly looked down at her hand. Walter had lightly kissed it over her glove just like last time.
“I see you’ve been to the bookstore.”
He briefly glanced at Andy holding a book wrapped in yellow paper before speaking.
“I came out to buy a birthday gift for my mother and happened to stop by here. What brings you here, Your Grace…?”
She quickly changed the subject before he could ask what book she bought when a hint of embarrassment flickered across Walter’s face.
What? Wasn’t he here to buy a gift for me?
“I didn’t catch that part. May I ask when the Countess’s birthday is?”
“Next Saturday. There will probably be a party at home.”
Since he hadn’t heard about it yet, it seemed he hadn’t received an invitation.
Well, knowing her stepmother’s personality, it was certain that invitations would not be sent until next Monday at the earliest.
The Baroness of Vansen had a nasty habit of sending out invitations at the last minute. She enjoyed seeing people scramble to change their schedules.
It was strange to think that she would apply her need to be the center of attention to the Duke as well.
Worried that Walter might feel upset, Hermia quickly added,
“She usually sends invitations only a few days in advance. The one for you is probably delayed due to careful consideration.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
Nodding gently at her firm response while still holding onto her hand, Walter walked toward the corner where necklaces were displayed.
“Then let’s choose something for the Countess right now. Please lend me your discerning eye, Lady Hermia.”
“Me… choose?”
“I’m not very knowledgeable about jewelry. It would be better if you chose something that would please my mother.”
‘My mother would probably like anything as long as it’s expensive.’
She barely swallowed her true feelings and peered into the glass case.
‘Yikes. Why is everything so expensive?’
The thinnest chain with a tiny ruby embedded in it cost a staggering 6 million Persos!
Hermia realized she had never properly looked at the prices during her previous visits with the Countess, but now that she thought about it, Madame Sophia’s shop was renowned for being one of the most expensive luxury stores in the capital.
Since everything she wore was collected by her maid as soon as she returned home, she had long since abandoned any interest in luxury items.
She avoided knowing the prices to prevent unnecessary greed. No matter how much money she needed, she didn’t want to resort to stealing.
‘Wait a minute. Is there even anything I can buy for 3.4 million?’
The increasingly extravagant necklaces next to her made her give up even counting the zeros on the price tags.
Hermia shook off his hand and walked to the opposite side.
As she squeezed between his subordinates who were stepping back, her eyes widened even more when she reached the bracelet display.
This was hopeless. The cheapest bracelet was 4.5 million Persos.
“A brooch… How much are the brooches?”
She muttered unconsciously while wandering around the second floor until she suddenly realized,
‘The expensive items must be upstairs, while the cheaper ones are downstairs.’
Hermia wandered alone before dashing down the stairs.
“Miss!”
A flustered Andy glanced back and forth between Walter and Sophia before hurriedly following behind Hermia.
“She must have found something she likes downstairs. Ho ho.”
Sophia awkwardly smiled while trying to hide her disappointment. Just then, Henry, who had been silent, approached Walter and asked in a murmuring tone,
“I heard she usually wears expensive jewelry from head to toe, so why is she looking at the price tags?”
“……”
“Maybe she already has everything here…?”
As Henry casually opened the conversation, Walter narrowed his eyes and strode toward Sophia.
“What’s the most expensive item not purchased from the Vansen family?”
“Pardon?”
Sophia, who had been looking up at Walter in a daze, quickly regained her composure as her eyes sparkled with realization.
“Of course, it’s the blue diamond necklace!”
“Let’s go with that.”
“The blue diamond is notoriously hard to obtain; there are only thirty-eight…”
“Please package it well and send it to the Duke’s residence.”
“…Yes?”
—
When Hermia came down to the first floor, she let out a sigh of relief.
As expected, small accessories like brooches, buttons, and hairpins were located on the lower level. The prices ranging from 1 million to 2 million felt familiar after having seen the upper floor first.
While admiring a gold-plated brooch priced at 1.5 million Persos, Walter’s voice drifted in from behind her.
“Are you planning to gift a brooch?”
“Oh.”
Right. She had forgotten about him. Embarrassed, she turned around only to find Walter casually standing beside her with his hands behind his back, showing interest in what she was looking at.
With the distance between them suddenly reduced, every cell in her body tensed with anticipation.
“I’m not very knowledgeable about jewelry, but I know quality correlates with price. You might want to choose something different.”
“Um… I wanted to see something unique…”
I know that expensive things are good without needing to say it so complicatedly. But right now, I don’t have any money.
…How could she express that? Hermia just bit her innocent lower lip nervously.
“If the price is a concern, don’t worry about it. Everything you choose will be charged to the Duke’s account.”
This time it wasn’t Walter speaking but Henry. He looked down at her with a somewhat grumpy expression as he spoke.
Is he some kind of mind reader? Hermia questioned seriously as she pondered this.
“Charged to the Duke’s account? What do you mean…?”
“Exactly what I said.”
He abruptly cut off her question and seemed to anticipate Walter’s reprimand as he quickly stepped back.
Hermia recalled their first meeting when she hadn’t been able to observe properly and soon realized that Henry was the soldier who had carried her father.
Since he was a subordinate of the Duke, he must also be nobility. Although she couldn’t read rank insignias well, he seemed to hold quite a high position.
‘He doesn’t like me. Right. I understand. Rejecting a princess for an illegitimate fiancée is understandable.’
The coldness from elites was no longer surprising; thus, she calmly scratched her cheek.
“Are you really going to buy this for me?”
“It’s not proper etiquette for a gentleman to make a lady open her purse when accompanying them.”
‘Isn’t that only applicable in cafes or restaurants?’
Regardless, it was an incredible stroke of luck; there was no reason to refuse. With a lighter heart, she began browsing for even cheaper brooches.
“Are you really choosing this one?”
A large silver brooch worth 700,000 Persos was being beautifully wrapped in a red velvet box. Seeing the staff’s busy hands at work made Walter ask curiously,
“Yes. Most likely you already own most of them. Sometimes it’s nice to refresh your mood with something like this.”
“…I see.”
The Countess wouldn’t carelessly discard anything given by the Duke even if it were trash; so why bother?
Hermia’s smile shone brighter than ever.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now. Please return safely too, Your Grace. Thank you for the gift.”
As Walter quietly watched his future fiancée leave with a beaming face alongside her maid, he raised his right hand slightly. A soldier waiting behind him swiftly moved closer.
“Make sure she gets home safely.”
“Yes, sir.”
Going out with just one maid and no carriage left Walter slightly puzzled.
He had heard that whenever she went out with the Countess, she was always surrounded by guards and rode in a carriage, no matter how close the destination.
Now that he thought about it, when they first met at the Count’s residence, she had looked as if she had skipped meals; her face was pale and there was no weight in her steps at all.
“Henry.”
“Yes?”
“Is it still common practice to abuse illegitimate children in the aristocracy?”