Chapter 14

***

“Please get off, miss Amelia.”

“Wow.”

I was purely admiring as I got off the escort of Genuzia. There was a huge two-story building stood tall.

As I opened my mouth and looked at the exterior of the building, Monica stood next to me.

“It’s the most famous store that sells furniture in bulk. Usually aristocrats don’t visit because they make custom furniture, but there’s no place like this for mass orders.”

“If you order today, you’ll probably get furniture within two days.”

Monica, the best secretary of the time. She really turns my mind upside down.

“Thank you, Monica.”

I smiled at her as a compliment and stepped inside.

When the bell rang, the staff’s eyes were on us all at once.

“Welcome… Gasp.”

They seemed to recognize at once that I am a nobleman, even though I am trying not be inconspicuous as possible.

They felt hesitant because they couldn’t approach right away ahead of time.

Well, having a young lady, secretary and an escort is just too aristocratic enough.

“Take your time, my lady.”

It was about time I looked around the furniture. A person suddenly popped out like a bullet and bowed down.

He is a skinny man with a mustache on both sides.

“Oh my, I ran out because I heard that a precious person came. My name is Adolf, the owner of the Adolf furniture store.”

Wow, my beard moves every time I talk.

“What is the purpose of coming to this humble place, precious young lady?”

He looked into my eyes and smiled softly.

In short while, did he smell money coming up and show up instantly? As expected, the boss is different.

“Are you looking for something?”

I decided to live up to expectations.

“I’m here to see some beds. About twenty.”

“Twenty you say?”

“Not cheap beds, but I’d like to see the most luxurious that is perfect for mass-production.”

Adolf’s eyes were wide open as soon as I finished talking.

“Oh, well, then why don’t you get inside? We’ll serve you properly!”

His eyes were going to pop out.

It was the VIP room inside that he had brought me in. Adolf, who brought out a simple tea, offered a thick booklet.

After passing the luxurious cover, the photos and prices of furniture handled by the store are organized.

It’s a VIP only catalogue.

“You don’t have to struggle to look around the store, you can choose from within this booklet.”

Apparently, he is good at business. High-ranking people are crazy about this kind of special treatment.

Of course I asked calmly because I don’t really mind this kind of things.

“Do you have any bed recommendations? Most of all, I want it to be durable.”

If it’s for our energetic Maltese, then yes. If I buy cheap, it will break in less than a year. I’m sure of it.

Adolf glowed his eyes once again due to my response.

“Oh, of course! Adolf’s furniture store has everything. All right, let’s see.”

This guy’s lips is stuck in his ear. He swiped the catalog over to me.

“How about this? It’s made of oak, and it’s made of high-quality wood and has strong durability. As you can see, the texture is very calm and clear, right? The sculptures on the head are also excellent. The price is 80 gold.”

“It’s not customized, but 80 gold is definitely in my price range.”

Considering that one gold is about 50,000 won in my world, 80 gold is quite expensive for a bed.

“Umm Hmm, we only handle the finest.”

She nodded at Adolf’s proud words.

In fact, it didn’t matter if the bed is 80 gold or 800 gold. Because it’s not even a drop in the bucket of money I have.

“Or how about this? It’s made of walnut wood, and as you can see, the design is very sophisticated. It’s 57 gold. In fact, at this price, we’re literally giving it away.”

“Hmmm.”

It’s pretty, but it isn’t enough. At the time, I was flipping through the catalog calmly.

“Hmm?”

I could see another piece of paper stuck between the bookshelf.

I picked it up and blinked. On the paper, the list of beds I just saw and the price were written.

That was not the only problem.

“The price is different.”

The price is significantly lower than the price seen in the booklet.

There was a difference of as much as three times and as little as two times.

The oak bed we just introduced is 40 gold, not 80 gold, and the walnut bed is 35 gold, not 57 gold.

Adolf’s eyes grew as if they were about pop out.

He took away the paper with a puzzled face.

“Huh, why is this here? Oh, my dear.”

Look at this guy. Seeing him sweat like a water, I had a rough feeling.

No wonder I thought the cover of the booklet is so luxurious. It was meant to be given to rich customers.

“Ho.”

How dare you try to rip me off?

Knowing the situation, I clasped Adolf’s wrist.

“Stop moving.”

“Oh, no, well, this is.”

Adolf sweated profusely and avoided my gaze. He flinched as if he was trying to pull out his caught hand.

“How dare…”

I clenched his wrist tighter.

In fact, this trick has been seen a lot in the world before.

Even in Southeast Asian tourist attractions, the menu for tourists and local people are different, and they sell food that is tasteless at ridiculous prices, saying that it is their specialty.

The same is true of our country. Isn’t it a national rule for a foreigner who doesn’t know anything to take a taxi around?

But if that’s what I’m talking about, this one is different.

“Let me explain what this is.”

“Huh? Ahm, this , uhm, t-this is.”

Stop selling your ahm.

I don’t know, but I’m sure my face is pretty fierce right now. I’m still the sister of the villain after all.

I raised my eyes more dreary.

Adolf, who is rolling his small eyes around, closed his mouth tightly. This situation is like a slender beast thrown in front of a predator.

“Madam, what’s going on?”

Genezia and Monica, who were standing far away from the disturbance, suddenly approached.

I stole the paper from Adolf’s hand and handed it to them without saying a word.

Gen, looked at the paper and booklet she received from me alternately, crumpled her brows as if she had grasped the situation.

“How dare you deceive Duke Cedric Family?”

She threatened with him with her scariest voice.

“Well, that’s… uh, Duke C-Cedric Family?”

Adolf trembled in surprise. His eyes shook violently.

“No way…”

His anxious gaze turned to me.

Dark pink rose hair, bright golden eye.

“Hic, hic.”

Only then did he seem to recall someone with my feature. He fell flat on the floor at the speed of light.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t recognize Young Lady Cedric!”

Yeah, you’re too late.

This man must have thought of me as some obscure nobleman. He would never dreamed of me being part of Cedrics, the greatest family in Rohatin.

If he knew, he wouldn’t have cheated on me big time.

I got up from my seat and looked down at him with my arms crossed.

Adolf is now shaking like a bamboo tree.

“P-please save me! I have sinned to death!”

Why would you cheat on me?

I looked down at him with my arms crossed. There was this movie line that I remembered and write down for a time like this.

“Do I look like a pair of cheap cotton hot pants?”

[T/n: This phrase means that Did you just regard me as a country bummer? As if the person who did that to her as he is being ignorant or a foolish man.]

“Pardon?”

“It means you’re going to lose your wrist, mister.”

“I-I have a wife and child!”

Adolf replied, almost stunned. He begged with all his might, and he looked like he was about to cry.

“Hmm, what should we do?”

I looked at him with more eloquence. I could see his back wince.

Genuzia, who is standing behind, stepped out.

“Miss, do you want me to cut his wrists?”

“Hmm?”

Genuzia took her hand at her waist that has a sword on it.

Slip, the knife came out half way. And her sword glistened.

“How dare you pay back the Duke Cedric family with only your wrists?”

It’s a strange line that he had to pay off a crime with his wrist.

Did she take it for real?

Looking at her face, she’s so serious about it.

“Just give me your orders.”

Genuzia is so ready to cut Adolf’s hand off the moment I gave her the permission.

I released his hand and urgently called her.

“G-Gen?”

“Yes.”

“I’m begging you, please put it away.”

I didn’t want to see people’s wrists flying in the middle of the day.

Genuzia looked at me. Her gaze were like, “Are you really sure?”

“But you just said that blew his hands off.”

“I’m just kidding, so please.”

I can’t say anything in front of them.

I was trying to pretend to be cool while saying the lines from that movie. I guess they perceived it all wrong.

“Hurry up.”

I urged her again calmly. Then Genuzia put in the sword with a sad look on her face.

Wait, a sad face?

“Gen.”

“Yes.”

“You don’t cut off a person’s wrist carelessly.”

Genuzia nodded and took a step back in.

If I have accepted it so gently, it seems like she’d cut him off as much as she can.

There’s no normal in this house after all.

It was then Monica stepped up.

She quietly looked at the booklet and the old paper from a while ago, and tapped her palm with a rolled paper as if she had concluded.

“That’s right, Lord Hammington. We need to resolve this peacefully.”

Monica’s voice was calm.

As expected, Monica. The last reasonable person left in the mansion.

What a humane attitude she had, a peaceful solution even in this situation.

Though it’s not right for me to say as I joked about his wrist.

“My Lady, can I talk to him?”

“Yes, of course.”

Do whatever you want, Monica.

If it is Monica who would came out at this point, it is a different story. She is as calculating and realistic as she is and remained calm.

If it is Monica, she could use this as an excuse to negotiate the price or get a huge discount from him. Where did she go to while she was managing the finances of the annex all alone for 5 years?

I looked at her with trusting eyes.

Monica stepped forward a little bit. Then she leaned towards Adolf, who is lying flat on the floor.

“Mr. President.”

“Y-yes?”

“Do you want to sleep on the sidewalk?”

…Huh?

“You may not know this, but you see, it’s not the lady’s job to make a store like this disappear without the knowledge of a single mouse or a bird.”

“T-that’s–.”

She whispered in a gentle tone. The way she spoke is as gentle as she could be.

Though what she said out of her mouth is a clear threat.

Monica, you said peacefully. Though it’s a peaceful conversation, but if you don’t use violent word, that’s what you call peaceful.

Monica, who doesn’t know how I feel, smiled with the most affectionate face in the world.

“Oh, of course, your neck will be gone, too.”

“Magically neat.”

With her gracefully raised hand, she tore the paper she was holding. A piece of paper fluttered from her fingertips.

“So you have to do your business upright, okay?”

Her thin fingertips tapped Adolf’s back.

“So give me this one and this one, if you want to live long.”

Adolf’s face turned as white as flour.

I’m really scared of them now.