George suddenly raised his voice after he interpreted my silence as a refusal to help.
“Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you! If you could just help me with my situation, I’ll give you a gift, Lady Nelson!”
What kind of gift? This was unexpected of George, who was a stingy person to begin with and wasn’t willing to offer anything to anyone.
“As Lady Nelson knows, our House has been in the jewelry business for centuries. I’ll reward you with a special gift, my Lady. What do you think?”
“…… What is it that you’ll give me?”
I didn’t intend to be curious at first, but now that it came to this, I’ve shown interest unwittingly.
However, to my disgust, George approached me once again, leaning forward across the table with a wide grin. Oh, for pity’s sake! Don’t come near me, you bug!
I hastily backed away for the second time but then halted when he spoke.
“Do you know of a blue diamond?”
Blue diamond, you say? Ah, that thing left me with such a bad memory in my previous life. Of course, you’re the root of it. And now, you’re going to give that to me as a present? Hah!
With a grim look upon my face, I couldn’t help but recall the old memories.
It must have been about three years after I married him. Back then, the Count’s business hasn’t declined, so there was no difficulty in our living arrangements. The marriage between us was that of convenience. It was rather commonplace for nobles to end up with. Despite this, we had a harmonious relationship for a couple of months, but then it went downhill after 2-3 years. It was at that time when he was meeting another woman for the first time.
The trouble began on my birthday. He asked me what I’ve wanted for my birthday as a present, so I hinted about a blue diamond necklace. Every year, I told him I had nothing to wish for, but that year, the reason why I asked for a jewelry was because of Daisy’s relentless persuasion.
Daisy was rationalizing that my husband runs a jewelry business, so it’s natural to ask for jewelry. Therefore, when my birthday was approaching, it took me great courage to ask for it. And he really gave me a blue necklace.
I was wondering if I had asked for a useless request, but I burst into tears the moment I received the gift. I thought at that time that I’ll have to get rid of the distance between us and do better in the future.
But as it turned out, what he gifted me was a fake. As if it wasn’t enough to give me grief, the mistress wore a blue diamond necklace with the same design as mine.
“
Even now, my only friend is still Daisy— only on the surface, anyway. Then Daisy had the neck to blackmail me with it. The more I think about it, the more absurd it is. It was not something to say between friends.
Listening to such words, I desperately need someone I can rely on. Not a connection that you can use as you see fit, like Daisy but a true friendship. A real friend.
“It would be nice to make new friends.” I murmured. I’ve decided I’d go to the salon and form new relationships. I wanted to live a different life than before.