âWelcome. Oh my, Lord Lönnrot! Weâve been expecting you.â
âGood afternoon. Iâll be in your care today, Gina.â
Maricle-samaâs carriage slid in front of a shop that obviously only sold high-end jewelry. The shopâs clerk then⊠No, she must be the manager.
âOh my! What a lovely young ladyâŠ.! Lord Lönnrot, perhaps this lady is the one youâve told me about?â
Gina, the elegant mistress, addressed me excitedly as she brought her hands together in front of her ample bosom.
âYes⊠Thatâs right. This is Miltia.â
âOh my! Oh my! Oh my!!â
Gina-san looked extremely excited. She stared at me from head to toe, her face was filled with nothing but joy.
W-what is happening⊠Sheâs not looking at me maliciously. Sheâs clearly looking very excited and happy. Iâve never been stared at from head to toe like this before⊠Somehow, I feel a little bit embarrassedâŠ.
âMiltia-sama, it is my greatest pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Eugina, the manager of Yuzcha & Vettera. Oh, please feel free to call me Gina.â
âY-Yes⊠Pleased to make your acquaintanceâŠ.â
I bowed to her and it seemed she liked my mannerism because she was still looking a little bit excited as she led us to a private room further inside the store. As I waited in the seat Gina-san had guided me into, I could hear her talking with Maricle-sama in the other room.
âListen here, Lord Lönnrot! That girl is the best diamond in the rough of all diamonds!!!! Her quality is beyond superior!!! Lord Lönnrot, please use all of your skills, assets and time thoroughly, meticulously without sparing even a single effort in scrubbing and polishing her!!! Sheâs like a flower bud waiting to burst open and when she does!! Sheâs going to bloom ever so magnificently!!!!!â
Even though I didnât have any intention of eavesdropping them, Gina-sanâs excited voice could be clearly heard all the way here.
âŠ.. T-To that extentâŠ. Do I give off a dirty impressionâŠ? Is that why she said Maricle-sama needs to scrub meâŠ.?
I mean⊠Itâs because back in my parentsâ house, I could only use dirty water and use dust clothes to wipe myself clean⊠I meanâŠ. Maybe because of that, the smell stuck to me ever since thenâŠ.
But! Ever since I arrived in Maricle-samaâs mansion, Iâve been taking warm baths everyday without fail. I now have the privilege of clean, warm water. And to top it all off, Iâm even allowed to use a high quality soap to wash myself with.
S-Somehow, Iâm starting to feel a little bit guilty⊠Maricle-sama also only said,âyes, I knowââŠ.
I stared at my palms. Now that I looked at it closely, I could see my hands were still slightly dirty from all the farmwork and the maintenance I did with the fish pond this morning.
âŠ.Yes. I will polish it. Thoroughly.
As I resolved my determination, Maricle-sama came into the room and sat next to me.
âSorry to keep you waiting.â
And then Gina-san came sitting on the opposite side of us with a small box wrapped in beautiful purple silk on her hands.
âI have a gift for you, Miltia.â
âA gift from Maricle-samaâŠ?â
âNow then Miltia-sama⊠Which one of these do you like the best?â
I glanced at Gina-san, following the direction of her handâŠ.
âUuuuhâŠ.!!â
So shiny!!!
She removed the purple silk, revealing the content of the box. I was flooded by blinding light the moment I saw what was inside the box. I was so surprised that I ended up turning my gaze away from the blinding light.
Sparkling⊠Glittering⊠Red⊠Blue⊠Green⊠Yellow⊠Every jewel is as big as my thumb and they come in various coloursâŠ.!!!
H-Hold on a second?! This⊠Just how many Ars-silver-coin-sama , does the smallest one cost?! Even someone who doesnât have any interest in jewels like me knows. Theyâre expensive!! Extremely so!!
Because!! Just, look at how it shines!! I was born and raised in a count family and I never saw a jewel of this quality!! My stepmother loves jewels very much and thatâs how I know jewels are something thatâs⊠Very⊠Extremely⊠Expensive.
âMa-Maricle-sama?!â
âMiltia, which one do you think is the prettiest?â
Maricle-sama directed his smile at me, his smile was as beautiful as the jewel in front of us.
I mean, thereâs no jewel in this world that can outshine Maricle-sama!!! None at all!!!