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“Tsk, where on earth did this come from? Security guard, quickly and take care of this guest!”
The person who worked at the jewellery store gave the security guard a sharp look.
“Please leave, Miss. You made it hard for me to work.”
“If you saw it just once, you’d know…! This emerald brooch was given to me by my grandmother. It has to be real. Please…!”
A girl whose path was blocked by a security guard cried out pathetically.
I turned to the girl and opened my eyes wide.
‘Hmm? That girl…”
The girl was covered in dust, as if she had been walking for a long time without being able to wash. She looked very sad because platinum dust was all over her, including on her pretty feet.
“It’s no more. Please leave!”
“But…!”
“You have to stop being careless or we will have to use force.”
The security guard put his hand on the girl’s arm and pulled her away. The girl let out a muffled scream in response to the rough touch.
“Kyaagh……!”
“This is not the place to beg, Miss.”
“Wa-Wait a minute! You said you would pay the appraisal fee too! Why are you kicking me out!”
The girl shouted urgently, but the security guard was indifferent. The sight of a huge security guard dragging a slender girl made me frown.
‘This store is so rude.’
Judging people only by their appearance is also a waste of time.
The way things are looking, the girl didn’t do anything wrong; the only thing she did was look a little bit dirty. On the other hand, witnessing how she was treated, which was like that of a criminal, made me feel sick.
I won’t come to this store again.
With that thought in mind, I took a long stride and walked in front of the girl.
“From what I heard, this person is right.”
“Saintess?”
The security guard and staff looked at me with puzzled faces.
“Isn’t providing an appraisal on your behalf for a fee part of the service this store sells?”
“Saintess, that is what it is.”
“He said he would pay. But you are not only refusing to do what you should; you are also behaving violently towards her, like she is a criminal.”
As I said that, I glared at the girl’s arm, which was still being held by the security guard.
“Please let go of her hand now. She seems to be hurt.”
The security guard let go of the arm of the faltering girl. This time, I glared at the clerk.
“I thought it was a store that only sold pretty jewellery. Little did I know that it also sold insults that I didn’t even order.”
“Haha, that’s it, saintess.”
The clerk tried to smile kindly.
“I completely understand your displeasure. I apologise. Lately, I’ve suffered a lot of losses due to a lot of people coming in and out, bringing in miscellaneous items, and claiming they are jewels. We overreacted.”
“Is this a shop where you can’t tell the difference between junk and jewellery?”
I tilted my head.
“I thought the appraisal fee was a process that existed to distinguish between the two.”
“That’s….Uh, hmm.”
The clerk trailed off as if he were troubled.
The girl, who was looking at the situation with surprised eyes, took advantage of the situation.
“If you give me the appraisal fee, you’ll know what I’m saying is real!”
When the girl desperately held out the brooch, I took a close look at it.
‘It’s a pretty colour.’
The emerald brooch with its deep colour was very pretty. As good as the ones that most noblewomen wear on their dresses.
“It’s an emerald brooch.”
“Yes, yes!”
The girl nodded quickly.
“My grandmother worked as a maid of an aristocratic family when she was young, and she got this brooch as a gift when she retired.”
“Pft.”
A laugh escaped from the clerk.
When I turned back to the clerk and didn’t say anything, he quickly changed his face and said,
“Oh, I apologise. I wonder how valuable a brooch a nobleman would have given to a mere maid.”
“…….”
The face of the girl who had been openly insulted turned peach-red.
The clerk apologised to me, not to the girl.
“I apologise, saintess. But based on my many years of experience, I don’t think it’s real. If what that girl said is true, I think her grandmother may have been deceived. Maids are so innocent. Yes, and now.”
The clerk said with a hint of regret.
“A real emerald would not have this light shine. Unfortunately, Sir. Why don’t you give up your appraisal? The appraisal fee is also significant.”
“Well.”
That man has a knack for being so mean.
I opened my mouth on a whim.
“I don’t think I can trust even this person to entrust my grandmother’s belongings to a place that denigrates their value like this even before the appraisal begins. Isn’t that right?”
As I said that, I looked back at the girl.
Only then did we make eye contact for the first time.
Perhaps because of the clerk’s insult, the girl’s eyes had already become watery. Her pretty, light green eyes were as moist as leaves drenched in dew.
‘Those eyes…’
Suddenly, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu. I looked blankly into the girl’s eyes and said.
“Most of all. As the wife of the man who owns the biggest emerald mine on the continent, this emerald brooch must be of the highest quality.”
I can’t believe the day will come when I will say these lines out of my mouth.
I felt embarrassed but desperately tried to pretend to. In times like these, momentum is really important.
The clerk’s lips twitched as if he were embarrassed. At that time, a clear voice intervened.
“I think the same thing.”
Cordelia held out her fan and fanned herself arrogantly.
“It’s an emerald that looks precious at a glance. It must be genuine. I guess this store is not prepared to deal with precious things, right? I’ll get out of here.”
“Oh, come with me, Miss Cordelia.”
“Wait a minute. Saintess!”
When I made a gesture to leave the store without regret, the clerk’s face turned an earthy colour.
I pretended not to see the clerk and spoke to the girl.
“Do you want to go out together? This isn’t the only jewellery store. Oh, I heard that Mr. Blanc’s store, which opened last month across from here, also has a lot of very high-quality products. They must have hired a skilled appraiser, right?”
“Saintess! The Blanc Jewelry!”
The clerk shouted in contemplation, but it was too late.
After putting down all the accessories and jewellery we had been looking at, Cordelia and I left the store. Next to her was a girl who suddenly followed us.
Out on the street, I whispered to Cordelia.
“Miss Cordelia, is that emerald brooch really genuine?”
Earlier, I was bragging and pretending to be a huge jewellery enthusiast, but in reality, there was a high probability that I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between an emerald and a gem candy ring if they were placed side by side.
But Cordelia will be different. When Cordelia, an aristocratic lady from birth, confirmed that she was genuine, she assured me that it was the real deal.
“Well. I don’t know either.”
“I said this because the clerk’s attitude was so unpleasant. She has to receive her appraisal fee separately.”
“I-I see. Thank you then.”
When I turned around at the sound of a trembling voice, the girl lifted the hem of her skirt and said thank you. She hesitated a bit, perhaps because she was embarrassed, but it was clear social etiquette.
‘It seems to be true that her grandmother was a maid for her noble family.’
“No, I haven’t done anything to be appreciated. You didn’t get any appraisal in the end, did you?”
“Ah…… But you defended me…… If it weren’t for you two, I would have said nothing and cried ugly, even though my grandmother was insulted.”
The girl’s face became sullen again. She looked so pitiful that I just wanted to pat her head.
‘How did she end up covered in dust like this? ‘There must be some story behind it, right?’
Deciding not to bother asking, I raised a bright voice.
“Then, shall we go get it evaluated again? Let’s go to Mr. Blanc’s jewellery store across the street! It seems like they have a rivalry with the store, and it would be perfect to piss them off.”
“Ye-Yes!”
The girl suddenly nodded her head.
Before long, the girl’s emerald brooch was finally able to receive a real appraisal.
The Blanc store, who was closely examining the brooch, confirmed
“It’s authentic.”
“Really!”
I cried out in a glow. Mr. Blanc nodded.
“Of course. It’s a good-quality emerald. Moreover, this brooch is not an off-the-shelf product; it looks like it was made just for one person.”
“What? How did you know that?”
“It’s simple. “There was a message written on the back.”
Mr. Blanc pointed to the raised dots on the back of the brooch.
“This is a phrase written in Braille. Would you like me to interpret it for you?”
“Yes! Please.”
The girl nodded her head frantically. She didn’t seem to know that the brooch had Braille engraved on it.
After comparing the Braille table, Mr. Blanc said:
“It says this. ‘To my grateful friend, Miss Wood. This is Victoria.”
“Ah…”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Blanc. I can’t sell this brooch.”
The girl said it as if she had made up her mind.
“I heard that phrase was written… … It touches on how precious this brooch was to my grandmother.”
“Oh my.”
“No matter how urgent the money is, I don’t think it’s right to sell her grandmother’s belongings. I’m sorry.”
The girl apologised politely, and Mr. Blanc shook his head, saying there was no need for that.
While the two were having that conversation, I was thinking about something completely different.
‘Miss Wood? ‘Miss Wood?’
I definitely heard the name ‘Miss Wood’ a little while ago.
That girl’s grandmother is Miss Wood?
My heart beats like crazy.
I stared blankly at the girl’s bright blonde, light green eyes.
My heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was about to jump out of my mouth. I barely suppressed my heart pounding and asked.
“By any chance, what is your name?”
“Pardon? My name?”
The girl said, wiping her watery eyes.
“My name is Selina Wood, Saintess.”
Selina Wood.
Selina, Wood.
The moment I heard her name, it felt as if an angel was sounding a fanfare in both my ears.
Right. Why didn’t I recognise her? It’s the same as the illustration. No matter how much she was covered in dust, I was a fool for not realising it sooner.
‘I found you. My heroine.’