/
Gulp. As she stared at the jewelry box, Charlotte couldn’t help but gulp.
‘How much is all of that?’
While she was awestruck by the sight, Roella picked up the sapphire that she had promised.
“Here, Charlotte. It’s the sapphire that you mentioned earlier.”
However, when Charlotte was handed the jewelry box, her expression was not so good.
That jewelry box full of gems.
And yet, this was just one little sapphire.
“Just this?”
“Oh? But you specifically asked for this sapphire earlier.”
When Roella said this again, pretending to be innocent, Charlotte snorted.
“I changed my mind.”
“Hm?”
“You’ve got so many gems here, so wouldn’t just one sapphire be too cheap of a price to keep my mouth shut?”
Right. No matter how hard Charlotte thought of it, that’s not the right price.
Was she just a normal person?
She’s someone who’d be guarding a secret after all.
Roella seemed to have gotten flustered for a moment, but she soon gave a small nod.
“Yes, you’re right. Then I’ll give you this— and this, too. If you want anything else, feel free to pick some more.”
“Really?”
“Of course. But you’ll keep my secret, right?”
“Certainly, Young Miss!”
Answering excitedly, Charlotte then proceeded to search through the jewelry box with busy hands.
And with her eyes, which were flaring up with greed.
Roella took a big step back, and secretly smiled as she watched the maid.
“I’ll take these.”
In no time, Charlotte had picked out the jewelry she wanted.
There were six in total, including the sapphire that she took first.
“Oh my, you picked all the pretty ones. You’ve got a good eye, Charlotte.”
“Ku-hum. Of course. After working in a noble household, it’s only natural that my standards are much higher than most other people.”
“I see. But why didn’t you choose this ring?”
As Roella briefly admired the maid, she then lifted a ring and asked this question as she tilted her head to the side.
It was a thick silver ring decked out with silver adornments. It was a crude accessory with a huge gemstone tacked on top of it.
“…No, it doesn’t suit my tastes.”
‘It’s only because it doesn’t look expensive though.’
However, in response to that answer, Roella looked back at Charlotte with widened eyes.
“Gasp, really? But this is popular among aristocrats these days. I bought this one in particular at a steep price.”
“This one?”
“Mm-hmm. It’s more expensive than all the jewelry here combined. Oh, why don’t you try it on? I think it’ll be really pretty on your finger.”
“Y-You think so?”
“Yes. Now, give me your hand. I’ll let you try it.”
Roella smiled brightly as she went ahead and put the ring on Charlotte’s index finger.
“Wow, so pretty!”
As soon as Charlotte put the ring on, Roella began to compliment her with the most colorful expressions.
It’s so pretty. It’s a ring that was made just for you. I don’t doubt that this ring’s name is ‘Charlotte’s ring’. You absolutely look like you’ve become the queen(?) of all rings.
By the time that Charlotte was thoroughly brainwashed by the sudden onslaught of praise-bombs, Roella swiftly turned the maid around and pushed her back.
“Well, now, you should retire for the day… You need to, right?”
“Huh? Right now?”
It was much too early to clock out.
The room had yet to be cleaned. She hadn’t even helped Roella wash her face just yet.
It was also her role to assist her through lunch and dinner.
Charlotte pondered for a moment, but Roella clapped her hands once.
At the sudden noise, Charlotte looked up.
“Oh, what if you lose your jewelry while carrying it around? I can just call another maid to clean the room and attend to me, so why don’t you have the rest of the day off?”
“Ah.”
Only then did Charlotte nod.
The ducal lady was right.
If she were to lose any of these, Charlotte was sure that she’d get so frustrated to the point that she’d get heartburn and insomnia.
“Since you said so, I’ll be off now.”
When Charlotte answered proudly, Roella raised one thumb and saw the maid off.
“Yes, Charlotte, go ahead! You’re this generation’s greatest queen of rings!”
Roella opened the door herself, smiling and waving until Charlotte’s back could no longer be seen as she left.
No matter who looked at her, she looked like she was fleeing.
So excited as she was, Charlotte left without saying anything at all.
As she rushed forward, she kept checking the ring on her hand.
Finally, when Charlotte was completely out of sight—
Roella wiped her eyes because she was crying tears of laughter.
“Ha. It truly couldn’t be that ring though…”
But as she chewed a fingernail for a moment, Roella murmured and let out a sigh. The expression on her face, outwardly, made it look like she was about to burst into tears at any given moment.
And when she walked back into her room, anyone could see that she looked so weak.
Bang.
After the door closed shut, silence blanketed the hallway.
However, after a while.
“…What on earth did we see just now?”
“I-I’m not really sure?”
The two maids, who were cleaning the windows at the end of the hallway, murmured to themselves quietly.