48
“……”
Are you really that frustrated because you can’t call me by my real name?
I was dumbfounded, but if that’s what he wanted, there was no reason I couldn’t do it.
“Lord Kaiden. Have you lost weight?”
“Drop the ‘Lord’ part.”
Drop the ‘lord’? Is he telling me to commit insubordination?
“…Are you seriously going to be like this?”
“You called me just fine yesterday?”
He had a shameless face.
Fine, whatever. No point talking.
I shook my head and entered the jewelry store ‘Asil’. Kaiden followed me inside without a word.
Bethel, who had come as my escort, decided to wait outside the jewelry store.
“Welcome!”
Perhaps because we had arrived in a carriage bearing the family crest, every single clerk bowed deeply in greeting.
“…It feels like a military parade.”
When I muttered under my breath, Kaiden merely shrugged once.
A slightly older man approached us and introduced himself.
“I am honored to meet His Highness the Grand Duke of Baltstein and Lady Merian. I am the store manager, Alfred. I hear you are looking for wedding rings.”
He smiled gently as he attended to us.
Kaiden asked to see rings that no one else had purchased.
The manager guided us to a private room and introduced the newest rings. They were all beautiful and sparkling.
Kaiden asked me.
“Merian. Is there a design you like?”
Honestly, I knew nothing about jewelry or rings, so I just thought bigger and shinier would be better.
“Uh, I… that one?”
The moment I pointed with my finger, Bled suddenly popped out and exploded in rage.
[Absolutely not! Go with the simple and delicate design next to it!]
Startled by Bled suddenly yelling at me, my finger instinctively moved to the one beside it.
“No, that one.”
The manager beamed widely.
“As expected, you have an excellent eye. This is the best design we’ve received this time. It’s a delicate piece with diamonds densely embedded all around the ring.”
Kaiden also nodded.
“That one does look the best. I was inwardly nervous thinking you were pointing at the one next to it. That one looked so bad it wasn’t even worth buying.”
I-I see.
While I smiled awkwardly, Bled muttered.
[Who picks a ring that only gangsters would wear? Are your eyes attached to the floor?]
I pouted.
Was it really that bad? To my eyes, the big and flashy one looked good.
The manager asked if there was anything else we wanted. Then Kaiden stated a practical condition.
“I’d prefer if it doesn’t get in the way when holding a sword.”
“Ah! I understand. We will place an order with the magic craftsman to pay special attention to wearing comfort.”
I was surprised and asked the manager.
“Oh, is that possible?”
“Yes. Besides that, we can also add a bit more sparkle effect, or apply tracking magic so the ring can be found if lost. It does cost a little extra, though.”
The manager looked at me with a deep smile. He seemed to feel better at the thought of the additional charges.
“Hmm…”
“What’s wrong, Merian?”
When I hesitated, Kaiden asked. I looked back and forth between him and the manager and asked.
“Is it possible to add magic that calms the mind when I suddenly get angry?”
“Yes?”
The manager’s eyes widened as he looked at me.
“I have a bit of a hot temper. If there were always a ring like that, it would be good for controlling my emotions.”
At my words, Kaiden made a “Khm! Khm.” sound while holding back laughter. I looked at him with a ‘Why, what!’ expression.
The manager made a sad eyebrow shape (like the character 八) and answered.
“I’m sorry, but magic that affects a person’s heart is difficult.”
“I see.”
I had briefly hoped it might control the fiery anger that rises when I see the Crown Prince.
It was disappointing, but there was nothing to be done—right at that moment.
“However.”
The manager looked at me with a calm smile.
“There is a bracelet embedded with a gem that is said to have such effects, passed down through rumors.”
“Oho.”
I straightened my back and showed interest. When the manager clapped twice—clap! clap!—a clerk standing behind immediately brought the item.
“Here it is.”
Inside the box was a thin silver bracelet with a single small black gem.
To my eyes, which had just been looking at sparkling diamond rings, the bracelet looked utterly unimpressive.
“Are you certain this has those effects?”
When I asked, the manager smiled even more deeply and said.
“There are such rumors about this bracelet. It is said to calm the mind, increase immunity, improve blood circulation, and relieve neuralgia, arthritis, menstrual pain, and stress.”
“Ooh…!”
After hearing that explanation, it felt like light was radiating from the bracelet. As if possessed, I lifted the bracelet, and Blade spoke.
[It really looks like a germanium bracelet?]
‘Huh? What’s that?’
[There’s a mineral that claims to have those effects, but there’s no clear evidence.]
‘What, so it’s just a baseless rumor?’
At those words, I glared alternately at the bracelet and the manager with suspicious eyes.
This is why you shouldn’t blindly trust merchants. Just as I was about to confront the manager—
“I’ll buy this too.”
“Yes?!”
I hurriedly tried to stop Kaiden.
“But Your Highness, the effects of this bracelet…”
“It may not be certain, but it can still provide some comfort to the mind.”
“Uh…”
As I blinked at him, Kaiden smiled and said.
“If it gives even a little comfort to your heart, that’s enough. Buy this too.”
“A very wise choice.”
The manager bowed deeply. I looked down at the thin bracelet with a dazed face.
Since we had bought the rings complete with design, the price was astronomical.
Even for me, who had been living quite comfortably since becoming a Sword Master, it was an amount that made my eyes pop out, but Kaiden didn’t bat an eye.
‘As expected, born rich…’
Kaiden asked if there was anything else I wanted to buy, but I shook my head vigorously.
Honestly, picking swords at a weapon shop would be way more fun than this kind of jewelry.
Then Kaiden cast the spell: “Send everything from here to here to the Grand Duke’s residence.”
My jaw dropped at the sight.
Something I had only seen in dramas in my previous life was happening in real life. I tried to stop him, but Kaiden shook his head and said.
“Wedding gifts are essential for a marriage.”
…I should prepare something too.
How much money do I even have left?
I was inwardly breaking out in a cold sweat wondering if I had to pour my entire fortune into wedding gifts, when Kaiden told me not to worry and that I just needed to show up with my body. And then he added,
“I can’t exactly eat the liver of a flea.”
…So the money I earned is the liver of a flea.
Since I had been receiving a monthly salary from the Grand Duke’s household all this time, Kaiden also knew exactly how much I made.
Of course, my income was dozens of times that of an ordinary person. It was about the level of what a decent baronial family earns.
But in the first place, that money came from the Grand Duke’s household…
It naturally led to the conclusion that the Grand Duke’s wealth was enormous.
[But he is kind of annoying.]
I agreed with Bled’s words, though.
Kaiden and I paid and were about to leave the jewelry store. We could see Bethel’s back as he waited for us outside the door.
But it wasn’t just Bethel—many people had gathered around the jewelry store, buzzing and crowding together.
Startled, Kaiden and I peeked outside through the window on the door.
Bethel was shouting at the gathered crowd.
“Please disperse! His Highness the Grand Duke of Baltstein and Sir Merian are inside!”
Then an imperial citizen shouted. It was a woman’s voice.
“Is it really true that the playgirl knight and the Grand Duke are getting married?”
Someone else shouted from another side.
“No way! The Grand Duke of Baltstein marrying that playgirl!”
“What’s wrong with Sir Merian! Wait! There—Sir Merian and the Grand Duke!”
“Kyaaaa!”
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