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Chapter 17
Frederick and I walked out of the boutique together.
“Young Master, what did the tailor give you earlier?”
After measuring Frederick, the head tailor completely changed his attitude and treated him like the most important VIP in the shop. He even brought out luxurious fabrics he’d never shown me and passionately explained his designs.
‘Wow. I’ve never seen that guy’s eyes sparkle like that before.’
At first, Frederick looked uncomfortable and kept giving me a look that screamed “Help,” but after a while, he relaxed and smiled as he chose colors and styles he liked.
And he actually had great taste. Even the head tailor was impressed by his choices.
By the time we finished, the tailor acted like he and Frederick were old buddies.
Right before we left, the tailor handed Frederick a small note. He looked so shy, like a schoolgirl giving her crush a love letter.
“…”
As we walked down the stairs, Frederick opened the note from his pocket.
“It’s an address.”
“The head designer’s address? I guess he wants to be friends with you.”
I shrugged and got into the carriage. Frederick looked like he didn’t really care and followed me inside.
Once he was seated, I said,
“Now, let’s go buy a gift for Charlier. You were planning to go all the way to the East just to get her one, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So what’s the gift? The one Charlier mentioned in the letter. The one you promised her years ago.”
“My mom’s pearl necklace.”
I blinked in silence.
His mother’s pearl necklace? Isn’t that a keepsake?
“That necklace must be really precious. Why would you give that to Charlier?”
“Because she loves pearls. And… because she’s just that important to me.”
Ugh, I almost teared up. He was seriously devoted to her.
And just like that, my annoyance shot up again.
There’s no fixing a guy this whipped. I kind of wanted to just toss him aside. But… I couldn’t help feeling bad for him.
‘Poor guy. Lost his parents when he was a kid, got completely played by some manipulative fox… Let’s just treat this like educating a clueless puppy.’
It really was sad. That necklace should be saved for when he gets married or something.
With a straight face, I calmly told a bold-faced lie.
“Charlier doesn’t like pearls.”
A 100% lie. Pearls were her absolute favorite. Even Leo always gave her pearl gifts.
Frederick looked at me suspiciously.
“She used to love them more than anything. Are you serious?”
“She did, back when she was younger. You haven’t seen her recently, right?”
“…”
He didn’t reply. Just turned his head away in frustration.
“Tastes change as people grow up.”
“…Then what does she like now?”
He stared out the window as he asked, clearly offended and sulking.
“She likes… jade.”
I quickly scrambled for an answer. Something fancy but rare. Something she couldn’t just buy easily.
Oh! Got it.
“Jade. You know, that gemstone from the East. She loves that now.”
“Jade…? Alright. Let’s go buy some.”
Frederick told the coachman to take us to the jewelry store.
The jewelry store was on the busiest street in Shairo. It was the only one in the city and claimed to be directly managed by the capital, Brunik.
Frederick and I got out of the carriage and walked in together.
It was a small space, but it looked fancy with sparkling mirrors and bright lighting. It almost felt magical inside—everything glittered.
From behind the counter, a short, balding shopkeeper came out with a big smile.
“Lady Delphine! It’s been a while. Your mother stopped by just this morning.”
Yeah, this place was like my mom’s playground. She’d come by like it was a routine, even if she didn’t have money to buy anything.
So the owner treated us very kindly.
He kept glancing at Frederick, trying to figure out who he was.
“This is Young Master Frederick of the Feredi family.”
The owner couldn’t hide his shock. Seeing that Frederick—who hadn’t been seen in public in years—was surprising enough. But hearing me respectfully call him “Young Master”? That probably shocked him even more.
He looked like he’d seen a ghost and subtly stepped away from Frederick.
‘Coward.’
His reaction was kind of funny, but I was more worried about Frederick’s reaction. Luckily, Frederick didn’t even seem to notice. He was already looking around the store for jade.
‘Wow. You’re tougher than you look.’
I turned to the shopkeeper and asked,
“Do you have any jade?”
Please say no! Please!
I didn’t want Frederick wasting money on a gift for Charlier. I’d never even seen them together, but I could easily imagine Charlier manipulating him like the master con artist she was.
“Jade…? From the East, you mean?”
The shopkeeper tilted his head and asked again.
‘Yes! Maybe they don’t have it!’
The way he hesitated gave me hope.
Maybe jade hadn’t made it to Shairo yet.
He scratched his chin with his wrinkled hand.
“Jade, hmm…”
“You don’t have it, right? Do you?”
I asked, way too excited.
“Oh, actually—we do have one piece.”
The shopkeeper clapped once like he just remembered, then opened a small door next to the display and went into the storage room.
‘Ugh. So they do have one. Dang it.’
I glanced at Frederick. Unlike me, he looked thrilled.
‘Wow. You really are head over heels for her, huh?’
I crossed my arms and pressed my lips into a line. Honestly, it was hard not to feel annoyed.
After a while, the shopkeeper came out with a small velvet jewelry box, covered in dust—clearly it had been sitting in storage forever.
Thud.
He set it down on the counter, and a puff of dust flew up.
“Achoo!”
I sneezed instantly. Good thing I caught it with my handkerchief before spitting all over the box.
“Are you alright, Lady Delphine?”
I nodded half-heartedly and signaled for him to open the box already.
He carefully opened it with gloved hands.
“…Huh?”
What… the heck is this?
I couldn’t stop myself from making a noise.
It looked like… a giant doorknob?
Where had I seen something like this before…?
Ah, right! The huge round brass door handles you see at palaces like Gyeongbokgung. That’s what it reminded me of.
What he revealed was a jade necklace. The problem? It had a perfectly round pendant about 30cm in diameter. Not oval—round. And at least 2cm thick.
‘Who would wear that around their neck? That thing would give you a neck injury!’
The shopkeeper looked at us with high hopes.
Frederick glanced at me like, “Seriously?”
“This is, um…”
I struggled to find words. I needed to say something polite, without raising suspicions from Frederick or offending the shopkeeper.
“This is… really… vintage-looking.”
“You have a good eye!”
The shopkeeper perked up and started explaining.
“This piece is from the ancient Eastern Empire. It’s made from the finest jade and was once only worn by royalty. It was imported specially for us.”
“Ah… I see.”
Just one polite reaction from me and he went off again.
“This gem isn’t shown to just anyone. It’s only for those who meet its level of elegance. It’s not something you can buy with money alone. Since the Plerrin family is such a long-time VIP, I’m making a special exception.”
“…”
Yeah, yeah. Sell it harder.
Anyone could see this necklace was ugly. No way was this ever coming back in fashion—not even in a hundred years.
And now he’s saying it’s exclusive?
‘Ugh. The more this guy talks, the more annoying he gets.’
I glanced at Frederick.
His face was full of question marks—and maybe a hint of doubt.
I was seriously torn.
‘Should I lie and say this ugly thing is a trend and that Charlier would love it? But what if she’s clearly disappointed when she gets it?’
But if we don’t buy something here…
‘What if he suddenly decides to hop on a trade ship and go buy a gift in the East instead?’
Ugh. No way out. I was completely stuck.
