CH 30

As expected, countless jewels were displayed in the room.

With my eyes widened, I looked at sapphires, rubies, topaz, lapis lazuli, opals, diamonds, emeralds, lapis lazuli, peridots, and countless other jewels whose names were unknown.

All of them radiating dazzling brilliance that even I, who has no eyes for luxury, could have guessed that the value was high.

But it wasn’t the jewel that surprised me.

“Here… It’s not a jewelry storehouse, it’s a treasure house, right?”

I asked, pointing to the crown and scepter next to the jewels, an elaborate castle model, the orgel, documents that seem to contain ownership of buildings and lands, gold coins, rare magic tools, and countless other treasures.

“Yes. We call it the jewelry storehouse for convenience, but as you said, it’s not just jewels here.”

Harold smiled and nodded his head.

“All kinds of rare objects of the Empire are gathered here.”

I thought Barmuth wasn’t that wealthy because we asked Marquis Binkler for help at my engagement, but he had these kinds of treasure?

Going out with just one of these treasures would have been more than enough for me to prepare for my engagement, though?

Harold opened his mouth as if he was aware of the question that appeared on my face.

“However, the treasures here can’t be taken out and used. It is even more impossible to dispose of it and turn it into cash.”

“Why?”

“All the treasures here…”

Harold coughed in vain, ahem.

“Because all of them are found in the process of catching criminals.”

“They all came from the process of catching criminals?”

“Obviously.”

Harold smiled and said.

“For example, that pumice stone was confiscated from an economic law that defrauded the Central Bank. Those are the relics confiscated from the tomb robbers who tried to steal the rare dragons managed by the Imperial Family. That’s the Holy Grail of a con artist who tried to act as a fake priest against a family…”

His explanation continued endlessly.

Hearing his explanation, I learned how these precious treasures were able to enter the storehouse of the Gottfried Knights.

“By the way, don’t these things usually go to the Imperial Family? Because the Gottfried Knights belong to the Imperial Family…”

So, it seems that all the criminal treasures acquired by the Gottfried Knights will go to the Imperial Family.

Harold grinned at my question.

“The Duke is the Imperial figure in charge of the Gottfried Knights, right?”

Ah, I see!

Kellerhan was officially a member of the Imperial Family.

Moreover, he’s the supreme authority on counter-crime, so it’s not surprising that he manages the treasures confiscated from criminals.

“Instead of taking on the responsibility of managing the treasure, he also has gained the right to use the treasure with some flexibility.”

Harold explained that he used the treasures here when he needed funds for an investigation when catching criminals, or when he needed bait to lure criminals.

“Can I use such a thing?”

Even if it was hosted by the Emperor, wasn’t it just a tea party?

“Of course, if you dispose of it, you’ll get a replacement, but wearing it to a party is fine.”

Harold said it was okay, but my heart was still pounding.

“To avoid using jewels entangled by rumors means not to touch the treasures associated with the dark magicians, or objects that are known to be cursed.”

“Then not all the jewels here can be used, right?”

“No, it’s not.”

Harold, who denied my words, looked around as if he was looking for something.

“Ah, here it is.”

Soon he came with a half-sized flat box.

“Most of the treasures here have dark histories, but this one is different.”

He said and opened the lid of the box.

It contained the most beautiful and dazzling diamond necklaces, rings, bracelets, anklets and circlets I had ever seen in my life.

“This is a series of Russell Diamonds dedicated to the Duke of Herbert in gratitude for catching the bandits running wild in the Canas Mountains.”

“What?!”

At the name of Russell, I screamed out involuntarily.

“Russell? That Russell I know? A legendary jeweler that existed 200 years ago?”

“You’re right.”

If it’s the Russell Diamond series, I’ve heard of it.

In my previous life, I’ve seen Heiner barely get half a pair of earrings from the Russell Diamond series because he insisted on Duke Lodgemund, saying he wanted to give it to a woman he was obsessed with.

Again, not a pair, but only one of them.

It is said that a person the size of Duke Lodgemund had to suffer to obtain half a pair of earrings the size of a little nail, which couldn’t be worn because it had no pair.

Such a diamond series…

“Everything is here except for a pair of earrings that Princess Herbert secretly sold and a missing bracelet.”

Uwaaah, i-it’s too dazzling! I can’t handle it!

Just looking at such an amazing treasure makes me feel burdened!

“There’s nothing to feel burdened about. The jewels and the treasures here are all more than the Russell series, and they don’t fall behind.”

Harold, closing the lid of the box, capturing the bright light leaking from the diamond.

“Rather, the Russell series tends to be highly valued because of Russell’s name, so in terms of pure value, it tends to be ranked lower among treasures.”

“Oh my gosh.”

I ended up with a groan.

So you’re saying that you opened up a huge treasure trove for my social debut?

“Y-You don’t have to do it to this extent, though…”

“It was on purpose.”

I was going to refuse to use the treasures in the jewelry storehouse because of the pressure when Harold said.

“When it becomes known that the Miss has opened ‘Barmuth’s Jewelry Storehouse’, it’s also symbolic.”

Those words made my heart ache and I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut.

As Harold said, there’s no effective way to prove that Kellerhan cares for me as much as me wearing the treasure that is pulled out of the jewelry storehouse, which must be the highest level of security for the Gottfried Knights.

Kellerhan really does everything he can to take care of me.

I already knew that he was that kind of person, but every time I realized it in this way, it felt complicated.

Kellerhan’s favor with me went far beyond simply ‘picking up and protecting a poor child’.

I know he likes something about me.

The people in the mansion call me a ‘blessing’, and seeing how the Gottfried Knights treat me, I naturally realize that there is something in me that Kellerhan sees.

But the problem was, I didn’t know what it was.

I don’t know why Kellahan cares for me, so whenever he showed me such sincerity, I felt anxious that something might be wrong.

I wonder if Kellerhan would say that he saw it wrong and that he would withdraw his affection for me… I’m afraid of that too.

“Miss?”

I heard Magda calling me anxiously.

“Please tell me if you feel uncomfortable somewhere. You don’t look good.”

“I’m okay!” I said brightly.

“If His Imperial Majesty’s invitation is burdensome, or the treasures here are so much bigger than you think.”

I took a long, deep breath, collecting my complex emotions that were wrapping around me so that Magda didn’t notice my thoughts.

Let’s be calm.

Even if Kellehan mistreats me, saying, “I saw it wrong,” he won’t let go of me.

As he’s not the kind of person who pretends not to know when a child is in trouble.

I chose Barmuth after looking at that one thing in the first place, right?

The affection I’m receiving right now…

Yeah, it’s like unexpected luck. A good fortune that I can never be disappointed of even if it disappears at any time.

“You don’t have to feel pressured, so feel free to choose.”

Fortunately, Magda and Harold quickly dispelled their worries as if they had taken my word for it.

“You seemed to like Russell earlier, as expected, is it really Russell?”

“It’s nooot!”

I shook my head in shock at Magda’s question.

“I don’t want to do only the Russell Diamond series!”

If I go out after doing that, the whole society will be turned upside down.

Harold nodded seriously at my words.

“I also don’t think the Russell series goes well with the Miss’ sky blue iris. It’s so big and shiny.”

“Me too, Sir Butler. After all, colored gems are more suitable for Madam.”

No, I don’t mean that…

I gave up trying to convince the two of them and looked around. It was to find a treasure that was somehow less flashy and less precious.

However, no matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find any jewelry or ornaments that were good enough for me to go to a tea party.

“How about this?”

After a while, I couldn’t choose anything, so Magda came forward and picked up a brooch.

In the center of the brooch, there was a beautiful sky-blue jewel embedded in it.

“It’s topaz. It goes very well with the color of the Miss’ eyes, right?”

“What kind of jewel is this? It’s not a series of something else, is it?”

And I won’t do it if there’s a great story behind it like Russell again. I will never do it!

Magda and Harold looked at each other and grinned.

Don’t say something like I’m cute. I mean, I’m serious!

“This one. It’s a very beautiful and sad brooch.”

Magda said in a humorous voice, telling old stories by the fire.

“It was quite recent that it was made into a brooch, and when the Duke originally obtained it, it was said that it was a topaz stone. But the source is really interesting… The original owner of this topaz was a mermaid.”

Mermaid?

When I heard the name of a different race that had almost disappeared due to reckless illegal hunting and is now only found on a coral island in the distant East Sea, I opened my eyes with curiosity.

It was a famous story that mermaids adorned their houses with large gemstones.

Hunters hunt to steal not only the mermaid itself, but also the mermaid’s jewels.

“How did the mermaid jewels get here? There is no way the Duke would have hunted a mermaid.”

Magda nodded at my words.

“That is… Hmm, but can I talk about this?”

Magda, who was about to start talking, suddenly looked at Harold and asked.

“Why, Magda? Is that something that shouldn’t be said?”

“That is… ”

After a bit of hesitation, Magda finally spoke up.

“It’s a story about when the Duke was seventeen, so he was still a rookie.”

My eyes widened at Magda’s words.

The story of Kellerhan when he was a rookie of seventeen?

I suddenly want to hear it like crazy.