Iâm asking about how to sell the jewelry this time because Iâm still⊠in shock from being nearly swindled with nine million shillings.
âItâs better to study the market value of the jewelry first anyway, or try to get help from others until I can do it on my own.â
In that sense, I set up a criteria on who I should be asking for help.
First, someone who had no reason to steal my money.
Second, someone who had an eye for luxury goods such as jewelry.
Third, someone who didnât look like a pushover whoâd get swindled willy nilly.
Amongst everyone around me in this place, the person who fit the bill the most was the duke.
Thatâs why I was going to ask him for a favor today, butâŠ
âThereâs someone else here who meets the criteria.â
âNever mind Father, can I ask you instead?!â
At my impassion question, Grahamâs eyes went wide.
I nodded vigorously in response.
However, Grahamâs reaction was not very positive.
Suddenly feeling quite intimidated, I timidly spoke.
âIs it going to be difficult?â
âNo, itâs not thatâŠâ
âThen, please, Iâd like to ask for a favor. Mister Graham, you definitely look reliable, and you have a better eye for jewelry than I do. Above all, Father seems to be very busy, soââ
The dukeâs imposing voice cut me short.
âOh god. I was too noisy.â
Feeling pressured, I instantly shut up.
But unlike me, Graham replied as he usually did, unphased.
âHave you finished filing the documents I assigned to you three days ago?â
âThree days ago, sir?â
âYes. Those documents.â
âIf Your Grace is talking about those documents, I havenât filed those yet, no.â
âThen take care of them. Now.â
âWhat are you doing? Are you not going to move?â
The duke raised one eyebrow.
Then, Graham smiled and nodded.
âAh, yes, of course. But then what about Her Ladyshipâs request? Huu⊠I donât think Iâll be able to help with that.â
âIf youâre busy, thereâs nothing we can doâŠâ
I was going to say that itâs fine if Graham couldnât, but then.
âKe-hum. Then, thereâs no other choice. Grahamâs busy, so I will have to help you.â
Announcing this haughtily, the duke stood up from his seat.
âPardon? But Father, arenât you busy as well?â
âNo? I just finished my tasks. Itâs all thanks to the hard work until now.â
Aha. So youâve just finished your tasks, huh.
âŠBut whyâs Graham busy now while the dukeâs free?
I was terribly confused, but unlike me, Graham only smiled pleasantly and responded.
âThen, Iâll leave it to you, Your Grace.â
The duke sat opposite of me.
With his long legs crossed, he bobbed one foot up and down.
ââŠOh. What long legs.â
All I could do was stare blankly at the new, unfamiliar situation I now found myself in. On the other hand, the dukeâs brows were furrowed to the fullest.
âWhy. You donât prefer that I help you with your request?â
âAh. No, itâs not like that.â
Given the atmosphere now, I was seriously contemplating whether I should take back the plea for my request, but I quickly shook my head.
Right. It wouldnât matter anyway who Iâd ask.
Anyone was better than me at this point.
With that in mind, I took out my pouch full of jewelry.
âHere. Please help me sell these jewelry pieces.â
He asked after checking through the pouch.
When I considered the jewelry I had, I eventually thought that they werenât important to me either.
So, I picked up everything except a few decent pieces.
âWhat are you going to use the money for? Donât tell me, youâre going to spend it on other luxurious things? Or yet another investment?â
âNo, not at all. If you remember the wishing fountain I told you about before, Iâll be using the money as funds for its construction.â
I had already told the duke about the wishing fountain.
Iâve yet to come of age yet, so I needed the consent of my guardian to construct any sort of structure.
âFunds for the fountain?â
âYes. I want to raise capital for it with my own money, but Iâm ashamed to say that I donât have any money saved. Thatâs why Iâm going to sell all of these jewelry pieces.â
The duke remained silent.
It looked as if he was lost in thought.
âŠMaybe even questioning the sincerity of my words.
âI know that you must be busy. Is my request too bothersome?â
âEnough with that. Didnât I say that Iâm free? Iâll take care of it, so leave these here.â
Feeling relieved, I brought a hand over my chest.
âHuu, what a relief. I thought youâd say no.â
Thus, the problem of the fountainâs capital was finally solved.
It was always such a refreshing feeling when any money problem could get solved.
Since I lived at the bottom of the barrel all my life, I was inherently born with the trait of feeling suffocated whenever money was scarce.
âThank you, Father. Oh, and another thing.â
I took out a small box and handed it over.
âYouâre going to sell this, too?â
âNo. Itâs my gift to you, Father.â