Duke Seymour could not believe what he heard.
Naturally, he thought that she would ask for the pink diamond, for which she even did bodily harm,to get it, but he never expected that she would ask to invest in a business.
"You want to say that you would like to start a business and you want me to finance it?"
"Yes."
"Ridiculous!
What came over you all of a sudden?"
"I just thought of a good business idea while I was in confinement."
"Seriously?"
'I can't believe my ears!'
Duke Seymour couldn't believe Deborah's words.
The Azutean nobles looked down on commerce.
The reason was because it was usually only the nobles with insufficient inheritances that chose commerce as an alternative way to maintain their finances.
The fact that Deborah, who was familiar with the aristocratic way of thinking, suddenly,decided to get into business, made Duke Seymour feel very suspicious.
"So, how much do you need?"
Instead of answering, Deborah wrote a number on a piece of paper and handed it to Duke Seymour.
As soon as Duke Seymour saw the amount written on the paper, he tilted his head slightly.
'Maybe she missed one zero?'
The amount was less than what he used to deal with the incident Deborah had with the Wizardry Association elder when she was a child.
'To do business, with just this much?
It is really.....suspicious.'
But Duke Seymour didn't question her.He found out recently that his daughter isn't a helpless idiot, but a child with a hidden side from what he knew.
'Let's wait and see for now.'
"I will tell the administrator to send you the amount of gold coins you want."
"Thank you, Father."
Deborah's eyes sparkled.
'Come to think of it, she had these bright eyes when I melted the frozen snow with fire magic.'
Those eyes stimulated just a small bit of Duke Seymour fatherly love,or maybe,should he say that it made him want to give her more...
'I think I am in big trouble.'
At this unusual thought,Duke Seymour coughed loudly and got up from his seat.
"I will get going now.
You can give me the letter next time."
"Yes."
"You don't need to see me out, go back to your studies."
It was awkward to say that,Deborah is studying on her own initiative.
'I feel like she's growing up.'
While walking to his office,duke Seymour suddenly stopped, because he realized why Deborah asked for money to open a business.
'I see.....she really is growing up.'
'The reason why she said that she is investing in a business is only because I insisted that she should tell me what she wants as a reward, so the only plausible idea she came up with was a business.
What a sensitive girl.'
"I can't believe you want to lighten my burden like this!"
Duke Seymour said that he would never buy the pink diamond for Deborah, and expressed it in front of his vassals several times.
'Debora intentionally asked for money for a business instead of the diamond, so that I wouldn't go back on my word.
She really thought about the weight of my promise and the consequences my reputation will have if I break my word, considering how many times I said in front of everyone that I wouldn't buy it.
I'm shocked.'
Duke Seymour thought that his daughter would remain an idiot all her life, but it seems that some people grow up late.
So Duke Seymour, who exaggerated and overestimated his daughter's actions, called his aide with a determined voice.
At this point, it seemed like he had to give her the jewel, no matter how difficult it was.
'No!I want.'
"That pink diamond...do whatever you must,to win it in the auction."
Shouldn't he show that, he as a father, is more generous than his children?
"Write a price that is higher than that of the family's son of the Montez.
It doesn't matter how much!"
"Yes,my Lord."
Three days later.
The auction house was turned inside out by the unexpected results.
Not only because of the huge winning bid, but also because of the pink diamond owner,because it was Seymour and not Montez.
The whole noble society was shocked.
.................
As I waited for the gold coins to arrive,I scribbled on my notebook.
There are three reasons why I asked Duke Seymour for business investment.
â¢First, I don't need jewelry, so.... it seems much more plausible than plainly asking for money.
â¢Second, being immersed in a business can be a very good pretext for delaying marriage.
'All over the world,life is more harder for the unemployed people than for the busy people.'
â¢Third and above all the most important reason is that since I have been struggling as a slave to a capitalist society for 24 years, I decided that I want to live an easy life full of money now.
'I must save some capital, to start a business.'
In the meantime the administrator arrived with a chest full of gold coins.
'My money!Finally!'
I barely kept a expressionless face as I opened the chest.
'How refreshing ot is to see gold coins after only seeing jewelry.'
As I stared at the chest filled with gold coins, I discovered a luxurious velvet case buried between the gold coins.
'What is this?'
After I opened the velvet case I almost fainted,inside the case covered with black fabric was a heart-shaped diamond necklace, emitting a bright pink glow.
I stopped breathing when the necklace that Philap had won the bid for,at a price equivalent to a year of the capital city's Town House income was, sparkled in front of my eyes.
'Why is this here?'
In the novel, this was a piece of jewelry that was in the protagonist hands because Philap had won it in the auction.
'This can't be fake, right'
Slowly blinking,I found a guarantee and a letter from Duke Seymour inside the case.
'Deborah....I will gladly accept your consideration for me.
However, I kept worrying about only giving you that small amount of money as a reward for the precious letters.
I know exactly what my daughter wants, so it is not reasonable for me to pretend I do not.'
As I read the letter, my blood pressure kept rising.
'40 million won in Korean money is a small amount?
And what does he mean by 'consideration'?
Did he thought I would ask for a billion,but since I asked for only 40 million, I was being considerate?'
"Being a villainess is really nice and comfortable."
'When I was Yoon Do Hee, it was natural to always be considerate,because if I made a mistake, I would be criticized.
I asked for that amount with the thought of showing that even a wicked woman can learn what common sense is.
Now I am praised for being a considerate person.
I've been living my whole life wrong.'
While I was looking at that pink diamond necklace I discovered a unexpected clue,much more valuable than gold coins.
.....................
"Master, the pink diamond auctioned today had the highest price among all the items at the auction house.
Congratulations."
Gerard, the guild leader of 'Guild Blancia',had returned with information about the fierce bid at the auction house,just told the Guild Master the good news.
He made a profit that exceeded the operating costs of the guild for one year, but the Master only stroked the golden fur of his giant beast, without an emotion.
'I really don't know what he's thinking.'
That man was relatively young to be a guild master,however, he couldn't guess his thoughts because of his poker face expression, he was even more mysterious and cunning than the previous master, who was like an old fox.
The same could be said about his abilities, they were unspeakably exceptional.
Since the beginning of the year, the Blancia Master has secretly invested in alchemy that changed the color of minerals.
Even if Gerard didn't like the way the Master designed the plan, his doubts soon disappeared because of an alchemy that changed the color of minerals,Master even said that he would make the 'Colorful Diamonds' a representative product of the jewelry store run by the guild.
'If a diamond is colored, is it still considered a diamond?
Master is indeed very strange.'
The pink diamond was the first product to come out on the market, so he was very worried about the response it would get,but it was an unfounded concern.
Master, found out the hair color of the woman whom Philap Montez is obsessed with from an informant, used alchemy to create a pink diamond,which had the same color as her hair, and spread a rumor in the city about the rare item.
As expected, Philap Montez, who was looking for a gift, took the bait.Even the daughter of Duke Seymour, known for her vanity, coveted the pink diamond after hearing it was the only one in the Empire.
As the competition among the prestigious families intensified, the attention on the jewelry increased without knowing,and more people wanted to make a successful bid.
In the end,Master was able to sell the pink diamond for an amount of one hundred times higher than they thought.
Even if the profit is huge, what was even better for them is that the value of the 'Colorful Diamonds' was highly priced in the market.
It is obvious that the sky blue water drop diamond, which was scheduled to be release after this, would be sold at an astronomical price.
Our jewelry store monopolized the distribution of this rare jewels, will also rise in popularity.
'Master's business skills are beyond imagination.'
And not just with jewelry.
Gerard was convinced that if it were for money,Master would do anything.
Like playing a game.
Four months ago,Master took over a bankrupt bakery and transformed it into a high-class dessert shop that sells only a limited number of confectioneries a day.
'Who would have ever thought that a bakery that had no customers would become the most sought after dessert shop in the Yones district?'
Thanks to that,gold coins are piling up like mountains in Blancia's vault.
"How much did it sell for?"
Gerard, who was lost in thoughts came to his senses at Master's question.
"Here, you can check it."
Gerard carefully laid the papers on the table with the final winning bid written on them.
As the Master examined the papers he frowned,and the huge beast next to him growled narrowing his eyes.
Master made an unprecedented profit,but Gerard turned pale looking at his seemingly dissatisfied face.
"Duke Seymour took it."
Master put down the papers with a mysterious face.
The fact that the Duke Seymour won the jewel means that his daughter, Deborah Seymour, has become the owner of the pink diamond.
"I naturally thought that Mia Vinoche would take possession of it."
'Master's predictions were wrong twice today.'
Master expected the jewel to be sold at a lower price than the actual winning bid, and was convinced that the winning bidder would be Philap Montez.
"Did I underestimate Deborah Seymour too much?"
Recalling all the information collected by the guild members regarding Deborah Seymour,Master fiddled with the gold coins piled up like a tower on the table.
"I knew she was the Duke's child but what did I miss?"
With a crooked mouth,Master threw a coin up in the air and snapped it with the back of his hand,he played with it until the coin turned heads and then he opened his mouth.
"Gerard."
"Yes. Master."
"Didn't I ask you to keep a close eye on the high-ranking nobles?"
Showing his displeasure, Master ordered the informant in charge of the Seymour family to investigate Deborah again.
However, a week after giving the order, a completely unexpected client appeared in front of him.
"How on earth did Deborah Seymour get here?"
As he looked at Deborah Seymour,while wearing a black hood, the Blancia's Guild Master, Isidor Visconti, felt secretly embarrassed.
.....................
"I am going out today.Call the coachman."
"Yes, Princess."
After ordering the servant, who prepared my dress to bring a hooded robe, I pulled it over my face.
The cold air scratches my cheeks,the temperature was low because it was transitioning from winter to spring, but inside the carriage it was nice and warm thanks to magic.
Because both mana stones and wizards are scarce, only high-ranking nobles could enjoy this convenience.
As I looked out of the window I realized how sweet the power of money is again today.
The carriage quickly crossed the Seymour domain and passed through the bustling city then entered a frozen, unpaved road.
Because the Atra district, where the jewelry store is located is on the outskirts of the capital.
'It is much further than I thought.'
Still,the carriage had shock absorption magic and provided an exceptionally comfortable ride.
About three to four hours later, the view of an unfamiliar city, which is completely absent from Deborah's memories,could be seen through the window.
I saw many buildings in construction.
'Perhaps the district is in the middle of development.
The buildings are well structured, it will look great when they're finished....It seems like a good area to invest in real estate.
What can I say.....if Yones was like Bundang, then this place feels like Pangyo under development.'
I analyzed the foreign cityscape with the eyes of an architecture major,but as soon as the carriage stopped, I grabbed my large leather bag that was next to me.
"Princess,we have arrived."
The coachman dropped me off at a jewelry store with the name plate 'Diana' written on it.
'Seeing that Deborah, who was well-versed in all kinds of jewelry stores, did not remember it, it doesn't seem to be famous yet.
However, this was the first place to showcase the pink diamond,I'm sure that it will soon become the most famous in the capital.
It will surely rise soon.'
I looked around carefully and then stepped in the jewelry store.
"Welcome. Thank you for visiting Diana."
The clerks greeted me politely and then guided me to a showcase.
"A necklace with a sapphire drop just came in two days ago, would you like to see it?"
Inside the neatly maintained showcases were rows of jewels with various designs.
However,I didn't come here to shop,so I immediately took out the pink diamond case from my leather bag.
The clerk's expression changed,he noticed who I was from the luxurious jewelry box.....a heavy silence fell inside the store.
I took off the hood and opened my mouth.
"From your expression,I figure you know who I am.
Call the store manager."
The manager appeared in front of me in exactly 11 seconds.
'It must be because they know Deborah's evil reputation as a customer.'
"Princess Deborah.
Thank you for coming to 'Diana'."
The store manager barely spoke.
"Are you Diana's manager?"
"That is correct,my lady."
"Then I want to ask you something about the pink diamond, so please dismiss the clerks."
I made a cold expression like Deborah and crossed my arms.
I have experienced from my previous life that it's not good feeling to be looked down on,so at my command,the clerks quickly disappeared from my sight.
Now that it is just the two of us, all preparations are finished.
"Princess.
Would you like to sit down instead of standing there?
I will serve tea and refreshments."
"No."
I moistened my dry lips with my tongue,and then I tried to say the secret code,but I felt embarrassed like I was going crazy.
".......Golden.."
"Pardon?"
"I came to make a deal with the seventh fang of the Golden Dragon."
I barely said the words.
Instead of looking at me like I am crazy person,he dwelled on the words 'Golden Dragon'.
His business like smile disappeared as if it was washed away.
"Follow me Princess."
'O my God!!!I did it!'
I clenched my fists,while I was cheering inwardly.
The manager,opened the back door of the jewelry store ,then he touched around the wall while walking through the dark corridor,then the wall turned like a revolving door where a stone staircase leading to the basement was.
"Princess,we will go to the location of the Golden Dragon through a Teleportation Field."
At the end of the staircase,was an exquisite magic circle located right in the middle of the basement.
We went in the middle of the circle and then a strong light began to spread out from the mana stones placed around the magic circle.
My body floated in the air and many colorful lights passed in front of my eyes.
T
he moment my feet touched the ground, the scenery around us completely switched.
"Master, a client has arrived."
The manager gently shook the bell pull placed at the entrance.
While I looked up at the high arched door, I put on my hood again.
Dum,Dum,Dum,Dum!
My heart was beating so hard that I could hear it in my ears.
"A client?"
A rough voice echoed from inside and then suddenly stopped.
That ten seconds of silence that followed afer, felt like ten hours to me.
"Tell him to come in."
After the huge door opened with a slow squeak
Bang!
After I stepped in the dimly lit office, a strong wind ran through my body and slammed the door close with a Bang.
The wind pulled my hood back and ruffled my hair.As I fixed my messy hair, I looked around the dimly lit office.
"Never in my life have I imagined that Princess Deborah would visit me."
The dark silhouette hidden by the dim light spoke in a rough voice.
With every step I took, the place where the man was sitting gradually brightened.
The moment that darkness cleared up and the man's face was revealed, I felt as if I was facing a wax figure,and when I met his eyes, shiny like diamonds, my chest tightened with tension and fear.
ROAR!
All of a sudden I heard the cry of a beast and right after a huge beast, slowly, came out of the darkness.
Because of the fear I felt I bit the flesh inside my cheek so that I could stop myself from screaming out loud.
The beast slowly approached me, with shiny golden eyes, sniffing and spinning around me,then he suddenly groaned and turned his belly up while lying on the floor.....as if it was acting cute.
I looked at the cheerful beast and the strong fear I felt,started to pass.
I slowly reached out my hand and the beast began to lick my palm with his rough tongue and after he rubbed his big head on my palm and showed me his belly again he started to purr like a cat.
"What....!"
The man's poker face started to crack, gradually,he let a light laugh come out of his lips and started tapping on the desk with his long fingers covered with a black glove.
"Princess Deborah,sit down first."
When Master lifted his hand, a chair came flying out of the air and settled gently behind my legs.
"Cookie, come here!"
Considering that I was in the middle of a serious situation, the beast's name was cuter than I thought so I bit my lips tightly trying not to smile.
'How cute.'
Master called the golden beast that was circling around me,with a stern voice.
The beast reluctantly returned to him, sulking.
"Princess, what have you done to my Cookie?"
Master asked as he patted the jaw of the big,sulking beast.
Maybe it's because Deborah was born with a strong heart,but I quickly regained my composure and managed to open my mouth with the coldest expression I could make.
"If you want to know you must give me 99 gold coins.
Originally the price was 100 gold coins, but I have something I want to ask of you, so I will give you a 1 gold coin discount.
What do you think?"
I imitated the lines used by the Blancia Master in the novel.
That's right!
The Master in front of me was the Crown Prince's 'cheat key' in the novel.
No, he was the Crown Prince's most precious assistant, and he made his living as a swindler.
'The most capable and secretive character in this whole novel, Master.
How was I, a insignificant supporting character, able to find him, a swindler.....'
That happened a...........
...........................