I was surprised.

  I stared blankly at Maria Patron’s necklace hanging on her neck.

  Why is Shananet’s necklace hanging over there?

  It was absurd and I was overwhelmed.

  "Why is the necklace……"

  In my murmur, Maria Patron touched her necklace with her fingertips.

  Perhaps I misunderstood my gaze at the piercing, but she had a superior smile around her mouth.

  "What a lovely necklace, isn’t it? I’ve been praised by other ladies for having a good eye today."

  "……It’s a beautiful necklace."

  The ladies with Maria Patron were a little upset but admitting that the necklace was a pretty good thing.

  It was Lombardy’s Madame’s item, and now Shananet has it, so it’s a ’modest’ necklace, not a really simple one.

  Still, it was a necklace of good quality enough for ordinary nobles.

  It was even more than enough for a woman like Maria Patron.

  "Where did you get that necklace?"

  I immediately grabbed my hair and wielded it, holding back what I wanted to yell at her to give the necklace.

  Thanks to it, my voice was shaking to pieces.

  "Oh, this necklace is not something you can just pay for."

  Maria Patron said, furtively covering it with her hands as if I were greedy for her stuff.

  Another noblewoman next to her asked to check.

  "Did you say that Lady Patron’s precious person gave it to you as a gift?"

  "Yes, it was my birthday not too long ago."

  I doubted my ears.

  What did I just hear?

  Who gave you that necklace?

  "So, Lady Patron’s lover gave you that necklace?"

  "Yes."

  Crazy.

  Vestian son of a bitch.1

  Even a cannibal living in the forest would turn around spitting phlegm because he’d get sick if he ate something like you.3

  He stole the things left by his wife’s mother and gave them to his lover?

  How rotten can a man do such a thing?1

  "It’s a very special thing that’s been handed down to his family for generations."

  It was the moment when the legacy of Madame Lombardy turned into a family heirloom of the Schultz.

  I was so angry that I became dizzy.

  Seeing Maria Patron using it, she seemed doesn’t know what necklace it was.

  If only she knew that was Shananet’s necklace.

  And she wouldn’t have acted like this if she knew it was my grandmother’s necklace.

  No matter how stupid and thoughtless she is.

  She wouldn’t walk in front of me wearing that necklace and recognize it.

  So Vestian lied to Maria Patron about the origin of the necklace.

  Then Maria Patron spoke in a shy voice.

  She deserves what she does!

  You have to speak properly.

  The situation is that Vestian is a married man with two children, not love, but an affair.

  And Maria Patron thinks I don’t know about their affair, and she’s splitting it up.

  She is stealing Lombardy’s money, in front of Shananet’s nephew.

  In front of me, Florentia Lombardy.

  Okay.

  Vestian wasn’t the only one to be punished.

  I thought for a moment about how to deal with that brazen woman.

  It just so happens that today was the perfect day.

  When the plan came up, my head, filled with anger, calmed down.

  I took a glass of fruit juice and poured it over Maria Patron’s clothes.

  I didn’t even pretend to be a mistake.

  I’m holding back what I want to pour into her face.

  "Gee, what are you……"

  Embarrassed, Maria Patron grabbed her own dress dripping with juice and tried to argue with me.

  I gave her a big smile.

  "Oh, mistake."

  And I made an offer to Maria Patron that she would never refuse.

  "Your clothes got dirty by mistake, so I’ll compensate you."

  "You know how much these clothes cost……"

  "Premium dress at the Gallahan Clothing Store."

  Maria Patron’s mouth, which was bursting with complaints, is closed.

  "I’ll make up with that. Let’s go to Gallahan Clothing Store."

  "Well, then……"

  I got up from my seat first.

  Then ladies who were next to her asked.

  "Can we come with you?"

  I answered with a nod.

  "Yes, go ahead."

  The more spectators the better to spread the rumors.

  * * *

  "Huh? Did you ask for 8,000 gold, now?"

  Vestian’s startled voice roared in the Pellet’s office.

  "Yes, that’s right."

  But Clerivan’s voice in response was calm.

  "I knew you’d ask for a certain amount of money in exchange for the right of the mine. But it is, 8,000 gold?."

  For a very large number, Vestian gulped.

  "Isn’t that too greedy?"

  At Vestian’s rebuke, Clerivan seemed to laugh in vain.

  Who wants to steal other people’s things first?

  He must be told that he is too greedy.

  However, Clerivan remained calm, recalling what Florentia had ordered.

  "It’s a secret. Pellet is not really my company."

  "Well, then……"

  "Can’t I have the money to build a business like this and buy a mine? Of course, it was invested by many people."

  Clerivan said deftly.

  In fact, Pellet’s sole investor and the owner was Florentia.

  "They say that if I want to change the mining company, I have to pay that much."

  "Well, when is the due date……"

  "You have to give it to me today."

  "No, it doesn’t make sense! How can I get that much money today! "

  The Vestian burst in anger, but Clerivan just shrugged once.

  "We have decided to have one day a year for investors to gather. They’re all busy people. And that’s tonight."

  "Even though it’s true, how can I make big money today?"

  Vestian was in tears.

  He is very envious of diamond mining rights.

  Moreover, he wanted to divorce Shananet Lombardy as soon as possible and gain freedom.1

  That’s why he wanted to get Pellet’s mining rights.

  8,000 gold was about the same amount of money that he had taken away from Lombardy.

  But that kind of money can’t be in hand in cash right now.

  Clerivan spoke with sweet words to Vestian, who couldn’t think of the right move no matter how hard he tried.

  "What if you take a loan?"

  "A loan?"

  "Isn’t it possible at Lombardy’s bank with the confidence of Vestian? You’re Lulak Lombardy’s son-in-law."

  Clerivan was right.

  Lombardy bank will lend him that amount of money.

  "You’d better do a loan first and pay off a loan gradually."

  Clerivan’s calm voice captivated Vestian with the idea that the best way is to get a loan in an instant.

  To Vestian, Clerivan spoke in a more subdued voice.

  "f you take the mining rights and start taking some of the diamond profits, it’s a quick fill."

  "……That’s true."

  "If you miss this opportunity, you’ll have to wait a year."

  He shouldn’t do that.

  Vestian bit his lower lip in nervousness.

  And after a while.

  As already determined, Vestian rose from his chair.

  "I’ll go to the bank. Don’t go anywhere and wait."

  "Well, I had a previous engagement…… Well, I see."

  Vestian was in a hurry.

  Luckily there was a Lombardy bank not far away.

  Running there in a hurry, Vestian hurried to the branch manager.

  The branch manager, who had known each other, responded kindly and bewildered by Vestian’s sudden visit.

  "If you’d let us know in advance, we’d have visited the mining company! What brings you here, Sir Vestian?"

  "I’m here to get a loan. I need about 8,000 gold, is that possible?"

  "8000 gold……"

  The branch manager looked at Vestian for a moment and nodded.

  "Then it’ll be a credit. Are you all right?"

  "I don’t care, so please write 8,000 gold in a draft."

  It was not until Vestian’s mouth that a smile spread.

  It’s so comfortable being Lombardy’s son-in-law at times like this!

  Vestian, who hurriedly signed and filled out the papers, quickly returned to Pellet with a bill he had received.

  Luckily, Clerivan was still sitting there.

  "Here you are. That’s enough, right?"

  Clerivan, who was deeply moved by a bill placed on the table, nodded slowly and said.

  "Yes, I’ll deliver this money to investors."

  Clerivan’s smile was especially strong, tapping his chest containing bills.

  * * *

  The branch of Gallahan Clothing Store in the Capital was particularly large and colorful.

  Maria patron and women, who were treated well by the staff of the clothes store thanks to me, feeling proud.

  Maria Patron rummaged for a while in front of a hanger with a premium dress before picking one.

  "I like this dress."

  It was also one of the most expensive dresses in the premium line because it had small emeralds along the chest line of the dress.

  For your information, the dress Maria Patron was wearing a while ago were affordable.

  But I nodded my head gladly.

  "Hmm? Isn’t that Tia?"

  It was because I knew this would happen.

  I turned around slowly.

  "What’s Tia doing here?"

  Just in time, my grandfather and father, who were entering the Capital branch of the Gallahan Clothing Store, were approaching me with surprise.